at some point every year the media start doing articles about the deaths of cyclists on the road and it usually leads to all sorts of “experts” trying everything from assigning blame to legislating cyclists off the roads. this is usually shaped around the concept of the safety of the cyclists themselves. in wa there was even a push for cyclists to have some type of formal training as they believed that they didn’t understand the road rules. i would guess that higher than 90% of the people that ride regularly with our club would also hold a drivers licence, so this point is kind of moot. looking at the statistics it is usually not the aggressive a-hole motorists that abuse cyclists that are causing the fatalities. more often than not, it is the distracted or inattentive drivers that don’t even realise that they are about to kill someone.
recently, in qld a coroner released his findings into the deaths of 2 cyclists in 2014 & 2015. he found that in both cases the drivers had sufficient time to act to avoid an accident but blamed inattention for causing the deaths of these 2 individuals. after of both accidents, police prosecutors withdrew charges of “failing to drive with due care and attention” against both drivers. after the inquest the coroner stated “why each charge did not proceed was of concern to me, as in my view there was a clear basis for each charge to continue through the court… i consider the decision not to proceed was flawed”. the result of the enquiry is a recommendation to get drivers to be retested on theory every time they renew their licence. this finding was due to “how little drivers knew of the rules relating to safe overtaking distances of bicycle riders”.
although i feel that the police do a tough job well (and we have some good cops that ride with us), there seems to be a reluctance to prosecute to the extent of the law as, in my opinion, they are worried about not getting a conviction on the higher charge. a work colleague here in perth had her dad riding down from kings park when a taxi did a u-turn in front of him collecting him on the way around. the cabbie was not charged with dangerous driving as there was video footage of him “checking his mirrors”. instead he was charged with careless driving. to me, being careless is forgetting to put the wheelie bin out on thursday morning, not driving a 1 tonne piece of steel around without due care. the qld coroner’s findings are a good step in the right direction. unfortunately it has come too late for these 2 individuals plus countless others that may have been at the receiving end of inattentive drivers. please read the linked article as it clearly shows why the coroner reached his decision and what logic it takes in case you or your family find yourself in a similar position.
ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for march are proudly sponsored by Seeton Consulting. they are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.
club annual report– the club agm was held last weekend and for the first time we produced an annual report. this chronicles the events of 2016 and it was clear that we actually did a lot last year. the publicly available version that is found in a previous blog does not include the club’s financials. any members that would like to see our financial status, please contact the club directly and you will be sent a copy.
paris-roubaix – as was the case last year, a group of cycling orientated people have organised to have the paris-roubaix played live at the local hotel in freo. turn up from 7pm for meal and a cycling trivia quiz with some great prizes to give away. the race will be screened throughout the hotel including the garage bar, restaurant bar, and whiskey bar. see the facebook event for more details.
entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds. even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you. there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area. check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.
ben oakes marathon effort- some of you may
know one of our members ben oakes is doing the london marathon on the 23rd april. however, most of you may not know why. he is doing it to raise funds for parkinson research as his dad was diagnosed 4 years ago. he has a fundraiser page set up as well as a blog to chronicle his challenge and give you a bit more background on his motivation. if you would like to make a donation, you can either visit the webpage or throw a bit of loose change his way when you see him.
saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning. please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate. this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts. see the previous post for more details.
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hursday training ride – this week we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable. we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities. have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit. there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.
ride routes – with the start of the easter break next weekend, we begin with the annual vice pres 3 dams ride. this is usually the start of the challenge to see who can ride the most k’s over the 4 day easter period. i will give a choc bunny to the guy and girl that get the most k’s over the easter break. must be strava tracked and must be part of the spr strava club.
saturday 8th april
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
transitional – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday
fast & main groups – south st 51.23km spr saturday
sunday 9th april
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
development group – coffee ride
short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday
long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday
monday 10th april
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 11th april
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
wednesday 12th april
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 13th april
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
see previous post for ride groups
spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
friday 14th april – good friday
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
ride start at coode st carpark at 6:00am
the 5th annual spr vice president’s ride
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
El Pres,
another well considered and very relevant commentary by you regarding the disparity between the facts in cases of fatal and serious injuries sustained by cyclists in traffic crashes – and the charges subsequently prosecuted through the Courts in WA.
It may be true that there is some perceived bias against cyclists by members of WA Police as there is in the wider community – after all, their members’ attitudes reflect general community attitudes. I would suggest this only relates to minor traffic matters where discretion is applicable.
However, when it comes to the crashes resulting in serious or fatal injuries to cyclists, the charges likely to stem from these injuries are guided by precedent ie. what has been successfully prosecuted in the Court before, and what have the Criminal Courts said about the facts in these matters.
Bare in mind the fact that serious charges including those before the District and Supreme Courts are prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), not by Police. Whilst Police may request a charge of of ‘Manslaughter’, it may be changed to ‘Dangerous Driving Causing Death’ or ‘Careless Driving’ by the (DPP), or withdrawn altogether for ‘lack of sufficient prospects of success at trial’.
What appears ‘obvious’ on the surface may not be so when it comes to achieving a satisfactory result for the victim in the Court.