Police cyclist killed in Manchester

mrchrispy
mrchrispy Posts: 310
edited September 2007 in Commuting chat
Sad to read in the news a police cyclist (actually a Community Support Officer) has been killed in Manchester, it sounds like a nasty one.

The left hand side of a vehicle is a very dangerous place to be, i really hate hearing about these accidents :cry:

linky

Comments

  • Sounds awful. Sympathies to all concerned.

    Some of the skills of PCSO's on bikes are questionable - hope that wasn't the case here, but if it was that they learn from it and give them a bit better training before sending them out.
  • Very sad, I must admit many of the coppers i see out on there bikes have very questionable bike skills. I know they do do some training but its based on bike handling and not road positioning. This incident may help improve there training and once they know how to use the road properly and other road users see them doing it we as cyclists might get a slightly easier time.
    No 1 fan in the jonesy124 Fan Club
  • A police spokesman said: "Emergency services went to the scene where they discovered that the cyclist had died. It is believed that the driver of the wagon has not been seriously injured."

    without a trace of irony.
    Friends all tried to warn me but I held my head up high...
  • Oddballcp wrote:
    A police spokesman said: "Emergency services went to the scene where they discovered that the cyclist had died. It is believed that the driver of the wagon has not been seriously injured."

    without a trace of irony.

    That's the MEN for you. They also say the volunteer, they are not volunteers at all but employed by GMP. Well researched as usual.

    My friend's daughter is a PCSO and has just become a biking PCSO in Manchester. She loves it and has lost a stone in weight through it.

    Sad, sad story, such a waste and sounds awful for those that witnessed it as well as his family. RIP.
  • nickcuk
    nickcuk Posts: 275
    Sadly, lorries turning left are a MAJOR cause of injuries and death to cyclists and it should re-inforce how dangerous it is (and often pointless anyway) to ride along the left-side of any vehicle, especially at a junction.

    I bet the insurance company reduce any compensation award to the poor guys dependents by a large percentage if he rode alongside after the truck had stopped. Bit different if he was already there and the truck pulled up - but that's not usually what had happened.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    How horrible.

    No point in speculating on it though.
  • The incident happened along the route I use to commute to work.

    A horrible thing to happen, just 21 years old as well. Shows how wary you need to be of large vehicles.
  • My condolencies to his/her family. I'd like to know who trains these people though. I was behind a Police cyclist the other day, and he was all over the road. You don't like to suggest to a Policeman that they are riding like a looney though, I think that you would be asking for trouble.

    "on your bike" Norman Tebbit.
  • very sad news...

    i commute evryday just outside of manchester and have done for 15 yrs. if theres 1 rule i stick to its that no matter what i dont go on the left of buses or wagons @ junctions/lights i stay behind.. i know.. a car could go left on u just the same (they frequently do ! ) but u can see better and be seen if u on the left of a car than a high vehicle.
    Good Luck and Be Fecund