Few details are publicly known about the crash at the moment and we should not jump to conclusions. The police is looking for witnesses – if you saw something, please get in touch with the Road Death Investigation Unit at Alperton on 0208 998 5319.
This is a guest post by LindaH, who was the first one to write about the sad and fatal accicent in Lambeth last month here Johanna Bailey died. Although campaigners of London Cycling Campaign identified the road where the accident happened as dangerous in 2008 and numerous cyclists on online forums share this view, Transfort for London (TfL) apparently does not see any need for action, as Linda reports. Let’s help to convince them.
Help please!! Following the death of cyclist Johannah Bailey on 31 July, a meeting with TfL officials has been arranged to press for improved safety measures for cyclists in the area of Cycle Route 5 where she died. The meeting is scheduled for 12 September.
Johanna Bailey cycled this way – the spot where she dies comes after about 10 or 11 seconds, where the collision investigators’ markings are in the middle of the road. (video courtesy of “Origamist“)
TfL officials say their work is “data led” — essentially, not enough people have died or had life-changing injuries for them to take action. Having secured a meeting with them nonetheless, it is crucial that we present as much evidence as possible to show why changes here are essential. The police also have asked for copies of correspondence into safety issues here, which they will include in their collision investigation report. Police reports can mandate changes to areas deemed unsafe.
The accident site seen from the opposite direction, seconds 14 and 15. Again, the video was made by “Origamist“.
We need to collect as much evidence as possible to strengthen our case. Have you – whether as a cyclist, driver or pedestrian — seen or experienced near misses in this area? Have you had or witnessed an accident which went unreported?
The area under discussion is the South Circular from the junction of Rudloe and Poynders Road SW4 through to the turnoff from Cavendish Road into Klea Avenue. It includes all the entry and exit points to the area: Cavendish, Hazelbourne, Englewood and Abbeville Roads, and Klea Ave as well as the housing estate entrance.
It was completely heartbreaking and very unsetteling. Sam’s family and a lot of his friends showed up trying to cope with the unexpected loss of a loved one.
According to various press reports, Sam was cycling southbound on Holloway road. Right in front of Holloway Cycles slightly north of the junction with Jackson street a door of a parking car was opened (apparently by a child) and hit Sam. He came off and was immediately afterwards run over by a TfL, as the Camden New Journal reports.
This is the second fatality in seven days. At least 12 cyclists died in the capital in traffic accidents in 2011, plus at least two more in just outside of the boundaries of Greater London (details of all fatal crashes since 2006 here) ashes here: moves me especially because I live literally around the corner.
My personal lesson from this tragic incident is: Keep away from the door zone! I’m trying to pass parking car with enough distance so open doors don’t hit me. I’m also trying to avoid busy roads like Holloway road as much as possible. Most severe crashes involving cyclists happen there. Cycling on quieter roads is possible most of the time. Sometimes, this means taking a slightly routes and it takes a few minutes more. However, less traffic mean fewer vehicles that can possibly kill you.
The big lesson for drivers is: Do a shoulder check before getting off a car. And please, please, put the child safety lock in action when you’re driving around with kids.
The police is still looking for witnesses of the crash. Please call the Road Death Investigation Unit at Alperton (0208 998 5319). The police wants to talk to passengers who were on the 153 bus involved in the collision.
I think a comment LindaH wrote in another post deserves more publicity. She’s describing a severe crash on Cavendish Road in Lambeth on Sunday, 31 July around 11am. Apparently, this accident has not been reported yet. At least, neither Linda nor me were able to find additional information about the crash. (In the meantime, the Evening Standard published a brief story about the accident.)
The Met Police is still looking for witnesses of the collusion, as Detective Sergeant Philip Hames from the Road Death Investigation Unit at Hampton Traffic Garage stresses in a comment on this blog:
I would encourage anybody who has not yet given a statement to contact myself DS Phil Hames or DC Rob Hill on 020 8247 6985 or phil.hames@met.police.uk.
So please, please – if anyone saw something and did not already talk to police, get in touch with them.
Philip Hames also writes that the Traffic Management Unit from Merton Traffic Garage will be examining the junction and making suggestions regarding road safety to the local authority. This really sounds like encouraging news.
An inspection ride that took place in 2008, attended by local London Cycling Campaign members, identified the section of London Cycle Network+ Route 5 (LCN+ 5) between Poynders Road and Abbeville Road as a major problem.
A full review “to determine how the junction should be redesigned” was recommended (CRISP, 24 June 2008).
LCC’s Mike Cavenett lives nearby: “This is a junction I avoid because it includes dangerous right turns in both directions. It’s long needed a major redesign to reduce danger for cyclists.”
In extremely poignant comments to this post, several eyewitness – Sara (here and here), Tania and Nigel – gave more details about what happened on Sunday.
Sara wrote:
This horrendous accident happened about 25 feet in front of my car and unfortunately the woman died instantly, although paramedics continued to work on her for 30 minutes. She was hit by a large white van just after the bend before Englewood Road which threw her up in the air and then ran over her – she didn’t stand a chance. Please please be careful cycling as what I witnessed will never leave me.
Tania, who was behind the white van, wrote:
I just don’t understand what the white van was doing in the middle of the road; well it’s a bit of a blur. I don’t think he was speeding, we weren’t, and he couldn’t have been doing more than 30. It’s very confusing as to why he drove over the island. When we re-visited the scene yesterday I did notice when cars turned the corner they did drive over the white lines in the middle (island).
We were clueless on what to do – in shock, there was this lady and man, they totally took control of the situation before the medics arrived, my husband just ran up and down, at first she had a pulse and was breathing, which was a relief, but then, well…
My thoughts are with the driver, I know he might have been in the wrong, but as a driver, I know how easy it is to be distracted (no excuse though). To look at his face and see the horror of what he had just did will stay with me, his first reaction was to cover her modesty, by taking off his tshirt and putting it over her, I was touched by this. He looked sooo lost, tears come to my eyes just remembering his moments, some kind lady was sitting down with him and talking to him (I had to stay in my van as I have a 10month old baby).
This is what Linda wrote:
Yesterday morning, yet another cyclist was the victim of a horrific accident, this time on Cavendish Road SW4. The accident took place just after 11am on Sunday 31 July. I cycled by minutes later, as passersby were applying emergency chest compressions, and as ambulance and police crews arrived on the scene. I have not been able to find out further details, so do not know whether the woman cyclist survived. I do know, however, that the South Circular was closed off until at least mid-afternoon.
The accident happened on a particularly dangerous section of the South Circular for cyclists in Lambeth. It is just east of Clapham Common, where Cavendish Road curves and then turns into Poynders Road. Traffic moves through here often at ridiculous speed and, because of the turns, drivers are less likely to see cyclists than elsewhere.
I have pointed Ross Lydall, Chief News Correspondent with the Evening Standard and an avid cyclist himself, on Twitter towards this horrific accident. I hope the Standards picks it up (they did, albeit very briefly)
Since I live in North London, I’m not too familiar with the area and the road design.
However, what Linda writes really sounds hair raising:
On Friday night, thousands of cyclists demonstrated against Transport for London’s balmy plans to raise the speed limit for cars on Blackfriars bridge. (Mark has the full story here.)
I’ve participated in that ride and just produced this video:
Boris Johnson is talking a lot about the “cycling revolution” that is supposed to happen in London. However, the reality is slightly different. Traffic planning in the city is still car-centric and not cycling friendly.
” The speed limit will be increased from 20mph to 30mph, cycle lanes will be squeezed and shoved to one side, carriageways for cars will increase from two lanes to three. In all effect, they are hell-bent on creating a 1960s-style urban motorway, completely to the detriment of all other road users…”
These plans really are a joke. For months, cycling activists have been campaigning against the ideas, but Boris did not care. Now, it’s the point where we all have to take action. Tomorrow, there will be a cyclist demonstration on Blackfriars bridge. I’ve just received the following email from London Cycling Campaign:
Blackfriars matters to all of us as it is symptomatic of TfL’s car centred planning prevalent on in all London boroughs and it is likely to define the City for decades to come.
So we’re asking all London cyclists to show their anger at the lack of action to improve safety for cyclists at Blackfriars by joining LCC’s slow ride across the bridge tomorrow at 6pm.
Please meet us outside Doggetts pub at the south end of the bridge
Our message is “Why aren’t you listening, Boris?”
I’ll be there tomorrow at 6 pm – and I hope I’ll see you, too.
About 10 to 20 cyclists die on the streets of London each year. Almost all of them are killed by motorised vehicles. Quite often, the drivers are charged with dangerous driving and have to face an inquest. The results of these inquests, however, are frequently very depressing.
The latest example is the death of Jayne Helliwell, a 25 year old student who died on Oxford Street last April. She was crushed to death by a TfL double decker because the driver incidentally hit the accelerator instead of the break. (There are two heart breaking orbituaries written by friends and colleagues of her: here and here.)
And guess what? He was recently acquitted. The case against the driver named Carlton Lewars was dropped after it was revealed that Lewars suffers sciatica. According to a report in the Evening Standard, he claimed that he suffered a “sudden pain” immediately before his bus hit Jayne. Allegedly, this pain was the reason why he used the wrong pedal.
I’m not expert in law, generally I do trust the British judicial system and I think the presumption of innocence rightly has to be applied if there are any reasonable doubt left. So let’s assume that the “not guilty” decision by the judge was correct.
Nevertheless the whole case is deeply unsettling. The company employing Carlton Lewars – Metroline – knew about his illness but allowed him to stay behind the wheel anyway. The “Evening Standard” quoted a Metroline spokesman stating that Lewars had been declared fit by his GP and the illness did not revoke his bus driving licence.
To me, there seems to be a significant hole in the system. How is it possible that an illness does not render somebody unfit to do his job, but when he makes a grave mistake due to this illness, he’s not responsible for his behaviour?
Either his GP (hughly unlikely) , Metroline and/or Transport for London has to take responsibility, in my humble opinion. Metroline employed an ill man who was unfit to drive a bus safely and hence killed an innocent cyclist.
Looks more scary then they are - if the driver is fit.
The “Evening Standard” quoted the Metroline spokesman saying how deeply sorry they are about the death of Jayne. Well, fair enough.
But how about putting your money where your mouth is? Because of your hiring decisions and employment policies, you’re indirectly responsible for the death of Jayne Helliwell. You knowingly employed somebody who due to his illness wasn’t able to do his job properly.
Please don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to blame TfL bus drivers in general. In fact I do have a very high opinion about them and thing the vast majority of bus drivers in London are doing an amazingly good job. My personal experience as a cyclist is that almost all TfL busses are driven in a very considerate and careful manner (of course, as always in life, there are exceptions).
LCC’s “London Cyclist” magazine has recently done an interesting story on the cyclist awareness training for bus drivers. I think this is really paying off.
This compares to a total of 82 cyclists, the big majority killed by lorries and vans. The low numbers of cyclist killed by bus drivers is even more remarkable given the fact that TfL busses probably significantly outnumber lorries on the streets of London, the job is very stressful and the pay isn’t fantastic.
Nevertheless, Jayne’s death and the revelations from the inquest are deeply unsettling. Hence, I urge Metroline and TfL to take responsibility for Jayne’s death. Pay a comspensation to her family and donate some funds to the London Cycling Campaign. However, even more important is a tightening of the employment rules. Otherwise, the message to any driver in London is straightforward: Convince your GP to diagnose you with sciatica. That’s the perfect insurance policy against any possible wrongdoing.
Update: On 2 November 2011 there was in inquest into Jayne’s death. The “Camden New Journal” published a brief report.
I used to be a big fan of the cycle hire scheme in London and defended it against criticism several times (see here , here and here).
However, now I’m really getting frustrated.
One week ago, I was trying to hire a bike with my key. However, I only got red lights and was unable to release any bike. Because I wanted to find out if there is something wrong with my key I called the call center. They were busy and I ended up in the overflow call center. Those poor guys there don’t have direct access to the cycle hire system. I gave them my key number, my mobile number and my email address and they promised to come back to me.
Guess what, I never heard anything again. Today, however, when I had a look at my bank account I realized that TfL nevertheless charged me one pound for the access period.
I tried to log in on the internet but that did not work either. The website always asks me to reset my password but does not accept a new one. (This is a known issue which I had before.)
I called them again and again only reached the overflow call center. Again, they wrote down my details and promised to call me back. Well, let’s see.
Stuff happens, of course. However, thanks to the Boris Bike forum I know that this is not an isolated case. Calls recorded by the overflow call center are frequently lost, they don’t call you bank and the website is constantly making trouble.
This is really a shame. The cycle hire scheme has been running since August 2010.
These are not teething problems anymore. This starts to look like incompetence!
I’ve moved from Düsseldorf in Germany to London in October 2009. One of the things I’m missing most are my after-work rides on the bicycle. In the center Düsseldorf – a city which is normally not known for its cycling credentials – it was fairly easy to do a 15 or 20 miles bike ride without almost any car traffic. All you had to do was getting to the river Rhine.
Cycling Intelligence 