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Cyclist critical - Bottelary Weg Cape Town Taxi involved


Big H*

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A cyclist was in a critical condition after slamming into the back of a taxi on Bottelary Road near Cape Town on Saturday, paramedics said.

 

ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said the man in his 50s was in the emergency lane when the taxi overtook him and stopped a few metres away from him.

 

He smashed into the taxi's rear window.

 

Banks said paramedics found him in a serious condition, lying behind the taxi.

 

He suffered head and spinal injuries.

 

He was stabilised at the scene and airlifted to hospital.

 

http://news.iafrica.com/sa/740125.html

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I dont like that road eventhough it has a wide shoulder. Always very misty in winter.

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went past there this afternoon just as the paramedics left, at the point on the road were it happened there is always farm workers being picked up, had a bakkie pull in front of us there as well awhile back, but we were lucky enough to swerve in time

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healing vibes to the rider.. urgh..such a horrible thought that the last thing thru your mind is that rear wind sticker "norty but nice" meh <_<

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the driver could so easily have just slowed down and pulled in behind the rider. I will say the driver is dumb.

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the driver could so easily have just slowed down and pulled in behind the rider. I will say the driver is dumb.

 

even a taxi cant come to a deadstop in a matter of centimeters, so I'm tending to ask what the cyclist was doing. thick fog/mist with taxi lights not on/working, that I'll buy. But slamming into a stationary car, especially a taxi which is RENOWNED for stopping ANYWHERE.. i dunno man.

 

wasnt there a similar case a while back up north, except the riders was going downhill at a pretty clip and couldnt stop in time..

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bottom line - we gotta keep the eyes on our eyes open and the ears on our ears open and ride to stay alive.

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heal well rider :thumbup: ..... was riding along there this morning test riding a Yamaha Tenere. It was a beautiful day to be riding thou.

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even a taxi cant come to a deadstop in a matter of centimeters, so I'm tending to ask what the cyclist was doing. thick fog/mist with taxi lights not on/working, that I'll buy. But slamming into a stationary car, especially a taxi which is RENOWNED for stopping ANYWHERE.. i dunno man.

 

wasnt there a similar case a while back up north, except the riders was going downhill at a pretty clip and couldnt stop in time..

 

No disrespect Capricorn, but maybe you haven't spent enough time on the road - if you do, you will encounter a situation like this where a driver's brain malfunctions and the trajectory of the bike they are cutting off receives 0 consideration. It's happened to me a great many times, mostly in London where traffic is much more dense than here. I've always been lucky enough to avoid injury, but this guy may have been cycling at speed, or maybe he wasn't quick enough to stop.

 

Taxi drivers very often don't consider bikes to be vehicles and don't factor them into their driving decisions. In a just society this guy would lose his license on the spot.

Edited by Lucky Luke.
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even a taxi cant come to a deadstop in a matter of centimeters, so I'm tending to ask what the cyclist was doing. thick fog/mist with taxi lights not on/working, that I'll buy. But slamming into a stationary car, especially a taxi which is RENOWNED for stopping ANYWHERE.. i dunno man.

 

wasnt there a similar case a while back up north, except the riders was going downhill at a pretty clip and couldnt stop in time..

 

Yes they can.

 

I stopped to help a lady cyclist a few years back,when one of the big Sunday morning groups had left her.

 

I was Lucky and the PE westerly was blowing nice and hard.I was doing 65km/h chasing the bunch.I was riding on the right side of the yellow line.

A taxi came past me at around the same speed and came to a dead stop about 2 meters from me.

My hands were still on the hoods when i hit the back.It happens so fast there is nothing you can do.

 

I was very lucky and the taxi window had a crack in it so the impact wasn't to hard,just all the glass cut my face and ear,my leg wasn't as lucky as it hit the body.

 

In court the driver said he saw me but didn't think a bicycle could go as fast as a car.

Edited by gummibear
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lucky luke, by your professional estimation in these matters, what constitutes enough time on the road and with what mode of transport?

Rhetorical questions aside, please don't presume my experiences on the road.

The point of my Opinion is that there are always two sides to the story, and even here on thehub, i've often read how more considerate taxis are than other road users, and that sometimes, wonder of wonders, road cyclists do seriously stupid things.

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Man I have lost count of the taxis that have done just this; one incident in Fish Hoek I stopped and confronted the driver. He made to open his door, I whacked his door closed, he jumped out and made as if to reach for "something?!?" inside his jacket pocket making a "come on then" gesture. I buggered off. He rode past and we both looked straight ahead. So I think he was bluffing, but still.

 

:thumbdown:

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