Cycle accident caused by pot-hole. Distressing picture.

scotjimland said:
saying he was stupid doesn't show much empathy
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I didn't say that.

But looking at the photos again, he must have been going at a far old lick to break a frame. I hit bigger holes when I take my mountain bike out.

I'll say again, we need to take care of ourselves when riding. I don't ride with my eyes shut. I don't ride through puddles willy nilly.
 
CCC said:
Where is our bloody road fund tax they screw out of us ever year going !!!
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NHS and other failing institutions.

Road fund licence hasn't been used for road network for many, many years.
It's nothing more now than an indirect tax.
 
What a terrible accident. I hope he recovers fully and gets compensated by the Council. If Councils were held to strict liability instead of having potentially available defences to many of these claims, the pothole situation would get higher priority. One suspects they make some kind of cost/benefit analysis when deciding road maintenance budgets.

We often visit the Duxette's mum who lives in Cheltenham. It's a very prosperous town, but lack of road maintenance is a disgrace and the bumps and disappeared wearing surface and potholes are dire all over the town. The A40 is getting so bad I fear tyres, wheels and road springs are all at risk from the worst potholes. Sometimes you cannot drive round the potholes because they are fully across the lane, so I slow down which no doubt frustrates the following road users too. It must be a nightmare for cyclists.

On Saturday I also felt a big nasty thump from a pothole on the southbound M5 in lane 1 which I failed to see because a car changed lane and cut right across the nose of the MH blocking the view of the road ahead. :mad:
 
I cannot work out what is in the bottom, and the cause of, the pothole.
Looks like a tree root but too uniform and can't be utilities.. too shallow.

We have a couple in one of our town roads which, on closer inspection, are caused by the old tram lines (which are visible).
The trams stopped running at least 50 years ago yet there is only 2" > 3" of tarmac covering the old lines.
 
pappajohn said:
I cannot work out what is in the bottom,
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looks like a kerbstone to me, perhaps left there when the widened the bend in the road.. so blacktop had little to grip onto..

hole caused by bad weather, water freezing, expansion, crack in surface soon destroyed by heavy traffic

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I hope the cyclist heals well and quickly. Going by the pictures of the actual road it is in a disgraceful state. No doubt there will now be panic stations in the local roads department , with all sorts of machinery out fixing the entire area , albeit far too late to stop accidents like this poor guy has unfortunately been involved in .

The roads in my area are as bad for cyclists and motorists . As well as potholes , another hazard is that drain covers at the road edge are sinking . Same with any drain covers further out in the road . These along with the potholes , probably contributing to my having to shell out for new suspension drop links in my car.
 
I have sympathy for the rider, clearly the pot-hole caused the accident....but

Was the rider riding too fast?

The bike is a 'sports' model and on the handlebars there appears to be a Garmin Edge computer which would point to a rider who might be riding 'flat out'

The Garmin Edge 1000 GPS Bike Computer Performance Bundle has all you need to take your cycling up a notch. This awesome bit of kit has many features and can do lots of things including: recording speed, distance, time, ascent/descent, gradient, GPS position, time/distance alerts & it also has the Virtual Partner feature so that you can train against a digital person! It comes with a premium heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor so you can track every aspect of your ride. It has a 3" dual orientation colour touchscreen and is optimised for use with gloves as well as in the rain. You can turn every ride into a race by competing on the Garmin Connect segments and this enables you to see real-time results. Another fantastic feature is the preloaded Garmin cycle map and round-trip routing for on-road or off-road navigation and points of interest, so you can input a distance and choose from up to 3 round-trip ride options.

I hope he makes a full recovery, whatever the circumstances of the accident
 
Barclaybasher said:
I have sympathy for the rider, clearly the pot-hole caused the accident....but

Was the rider riding too fast?

The bike is a 'sports' model and on the handlebars there appears to be a Garmin Edge computer which would point to a rider who might be riding 'flat out'

The Garmin Edge 1000 GPS Bike Computer Performance Bundle has all you need to take your cycling up a notch. This awesome bit of kit has many features and can do lots of things including: recording speed, distance, time, ascent/descent, gradient, GPS position, time/distance alerts & it also has the Virtual Partner feature so that you can train against a digital person! It comes with a premium heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor so you can track every aspect of your ride. It has a 3" dual orientation colour touchscreen and is optimised for use with gloves as well as in the rain. You can turn every ride into a race by competing on the Garmin Connect segments and this enables you to see real-time results. Another fantastic feature is the preloaded Garmin cycle map and round-trip routing for on-road or off-road navigation and points of interest, so you can input a distance and choose from up to 3 round-trip ride options.

I hope he makes a full recovery, whatever the circumstances of the accident
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If he sues the council, they should be able to see that video. I bet it goes missing ;)
 
scotjimland said:
looks like a kerbstone to me, perhaps left there when the widened the bend in the road.. so blacktop had little to grip onto..

hole caused by bad weather, water freezing, expansion, crack in surface soon destroyed by heavy traffic
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Good possibility Jim. There is a definate line either end of the hole and around the bend.
 
joka250 said:
my understanding once reported local authority or highways authority become liable
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This is to me seems a problem: Sue the council and the council has less money, has to raise rates - the ratepayers end up paying the penalty. It's not "The Council", it's the man in charge: the man who has the say and responsibility to decide where money gets spent. Penalise the man, not the organisation. If the man doesn't have the funds or authority, go after his boss - all the way to the PM.

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Are the roads now built with less camber on them, ie a lot flatter as there seems to be a lot more standing water on roads now.
 
Here in Cornwall, the Council get around it by leaving a sign alongside the road, "Uneven surface" When you come a cropper their excuse is, by putting the sign out, they warned you there were hazards ahead.
 
I hope he makes a full recovery. I am guessing that mental trauma will be harder to overcome (fear of going out on a cycle again for example) than the physical aspect.

What would damage a car (springs etc) does far more damage to a person on a cycle (or a person walking).
 
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scotjimland said:
puddles can conceal all sorts of hazards.. deep pot holes, drain covers missing, etc.. never ride through them at speed
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I'd never drive through a 'puddle' on a road I didn't know ,let alone on a bike. If there is a puddle it just indicates that the road & surface isn't fit for purpose & you should be very wary.
SpeedyDux said:
. Sometimes you cannot drive round the potholes because they are fully across the lane, so I slow down which no doubt frustrates the following road users too.
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I use both sides of the road & the pavement ,if necessary. Failing that I will stop. I do not drive through potholes .

Hope he makes a full recovery .
 
I feel so sorry for him and hope a speedy recover in made. I looked very much like that when I was stopped by a concrete lamp post when I was about 10 whilst going down hill on a bike that was to big for me. And I had only just come back from the dentist.
Looking at picture again can not make out if it was caused by a frame failure as the front wheel looks undamaged. I’ve buckled wheels years ago while training and racing by hitting smaller holes.

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The pothole puddle looks rather innocuous compared to the expanse of water stretching to the kerb so suggesting the cyclist is even partially to blame is being a bit churlish, IMHO.

The real scandal is why the hell are there holes like that in the centre of a carriageway? - what a bl**dy third world country the UK has become.....:mad:
 
Pete5996 said:
The pothole puddle looks rather innocuous compared to the expanse of water stretching to the kerb so suggesting the cyclist is even partially to blame is being a bit churlish, IMHO.

The real scandal is why the hell are there holes like that in the centre of a carriageway? - what a bl**dy third world country the UK has become.....:mad:
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Here's one of the reasons , It starts about 15 seconds in
 
joka250 said:
It really is only a matter of time before such as this, and worse, become every day occurrences on a major scale. To be perfectly mercenary how much has this cost the NHS police and others, against the cost of filling pot holes.
How much difference it makes I really don't know but try reporting pot holeson www.fixmystreet.com my understanding once reported local authority or highways authority become liable. Might just concentrate their minds.
Dreadful thought but how many deaths to make this headline news.
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No as said earlier you have to prove that they have had a reasonable amount of time to repair the pot hole and that they have neglected to do so.

Barclaybasher said:
I have sympathy for the rider, clearly the pot-hole caused the accident....but

Was the rider riding too fast?

The bike is a 'sports' model and on the handlebars there appears to be a Garmin Edge computer which would point to a rider who might be riding 'flat out'

The Garmin Edge 1000 GPS Bike Computer Performance Bundle has all you need to take your cycling up a notch. This awesome bit of kit has many features and can do lots of things including: recording speed, distance, time, ascent/descent, gradient, GPS position, time/distance alerts & it also has the Virtual Partner feature so that you can train against a digital person! It comes with a premium heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor so you can track every aspect of your ride. It has a 3" dual orientation colour touchscreen and is optimised for use with gloves as well as in the rain. You can turn every ride into a race by competing on the Garmin Connect segments and this enables you to see real-time results. Another fantastic feature is the preloaded Garmin cycle map and round-trip routing for on-road or off-road navigation and points of interest, so you can input a distance and choose from up to 3 round-trip ride options.

I hope he makes a full recovery, whatever the circumstances of the accident
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Makes no difference whether he was riding to fast. To fast for what? BTW it's not a sports bike, just a standard Ribble road bike. Here's a picture of my Ribble sports bike which I am about to go out on and race the TT on. 10 miles tonight as fast as I can aiming to stay anywhere between 20 and 30 mph for the complete course... I will have my garmin on too as of course I need to know how fast I am going and what pace.... If something smashes my bike tonight I won't be pleased. Btw my helmet cost more than my motorbike crash helmet, cycling is addictive and very expensive.

ribble tt.JPG
 
scotjimland said:
Copied from a post on Facebook if anybody objects I will remove it..

"So the day started with a nice ride into the Buckinghamshire countryside..

It was only a matter of time before somebody was going to be nearly killed by our roads that are becoming increasingly dangerous for all users.

Well today after hitting a pothole filled with water and snapping the bike frame in half which was bad enough, a fellow human being (not me fortunately) is rushed to hospital and going to have a op tomorrow for fractured jaw, cheek, nose. Two punture wounds on his face and split lip that needs sitching plus a slight fracture on his spine!

We are not talking the odd required repair that’s missed, we all understand that things slip through the net.. This is years of under investment making our roads increasingly dangerous to all users and it’s just not acceptable!

Our roads are officially a disgrace...! "


View attachment 228401 View attachment 228402 View attachment 228403 View attachment 228404 View attachment 228405
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I’m not offended, just so terribly upset because it keeps happening , Send it to your MP please. My son is a cyclist and roads here in Cumbria are so so bad
 
LesW said:
Britain?
You could also add, waste of space police commissioners and their hangers on.

But that's another topic.
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So the police are to blame for this cyclist's crash. Phew. Glad that's sorted.

h7477fae7.jpeg

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tacr2man said:
Here's one of the reasons , It starts about 15 seconds in
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Electing nutters is never going to solve anything - what we need are people with real-world experience who have the country's, and not their own, interests at heart. Fat chance these days....:(

That pothole didn't appear overnight - it's taken a long time to develop to that condition. Highway Authorities, under budget restrictions or not, have a responsibility to inspect roads for defects and take action where necessary. I believe Network Rail is obliged to inspect every yard of their track on a frequent basis - I don't see that them saying their budget had been cut would be an adequate excuse for a rail disaster.
 
haganap said:
Makes no difference whether he was riding to fast. To fast for what?
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Paul, I know you are a keen cyclist but the problem I have with some cyclists is that they seem to think they can use public roads as race tracks - whether racing against each other or their 'Garmin'

Racing should be on tracks or closed roads

If some cyclists ride 'to the limit' with other traffic then I think it's just reckless and they are literally risking everything.

I think it was yourself that said the 30 mph limit was a target.

Stay safe(y)
 
Barclaybasher said:
Paul, I know you are a keen cyclist but the problem I have with some cyclists is that they seem to think they can use public roads as race tracks - whether racing against each other or their 'Garmin'

Racing should be on tracks or closed roads

If some cyclists ride 'to the limit' with other traffic then I think it's just reckless and they are literally risking everything.

I think it was yourself that said the 30 mph limit was a target.

Stay safe(y)
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I get that, but ok try this.

Yes he has a garmin on his bike (road bike) so does Nikki, she uses it to measure her distance traveled and overall speed as well as recording or following a map... that's what they do. Last week she recorded a fantastic 15 miles at an average speed of 12 mph, hardly too fast but she has a garmin.

My 30 mph target is on a TT road race. its a race on open roads yes it's dangerous but what in life isn't? In general this chap could have been going no more than 10-15 mph and been over the handlebars causing this damage so speed is not really a factor, that's my only point. Riding through a puddle isn't clever, but we don't know why he did? We can all speculate but the reality is the state of our roads is a national disgrace at the moment and the only people we can really blame is local councils. However, I have driven in Belgium and Italy too ;-)
 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...behind-rising-death-toll-among-dutch-cyclists


The Netherlands had had a large increase in cycle deaths in 2017. You would think if you were to be safe riding a bike it would be there.
It seems there is a big increase in men over 65 dying on e bikes .
Having seen the thousands of " grandad racers" tearing around the Spanish Costas I am not suprised

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