Serious accident on A55 in Anglesey

Pross
Pross Posts: 43,462
edited April 2011 in The bottom bracket
I passed a serious accident on the opposite carriageway of the A55 going through Anglesey a couple of hours ago. Two ambulances were present and a third just turning up along with air ambulance. At least one cyclist had been hit but others may have been involved as there were a group on the side of the road. I fear the worst as front vehicle in the stopped traffic was an artic and the road is almost motorway standard but I hope it isn't as bad as it looked :(
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Comments

  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Doesn't sound good :(

    I'm a pretty confident cyclist but I can't imagine ever riding on the A55 other than to get across the bridges.

    Hope they're ok
  • Condolences to the family / people involved -

    http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-w ... -28514133/
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Very sad

    Sounds like a group ride or a club involved.

    Condolences
  • BarryBonds
    BarryBonds Posts: 344
    not good at all
  • FocusZing
    FocusZing Posts: 4,373
    Somebody out enjoying themselves making the most of life, bloody shame.
  • jibi
    jibi Posts: 857
    Only 20 years old....so young....so sad....


  • AndyF16
    AndyF16 Posts: 506
    Sad indeed, but that road is a (two lane) motorway in all but name, including many Irish trucks chasing for ferries - can't say I'd willingly use it :(
    2011 Bianchi D2 Cavaria in celeste (of course!)
    2011 Enigma Echo 57cm in naked Ti
    2009 Orange G2 19" in, erm orange
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Went past on the way back as they were carrying out the investigation and there five bikes still there numbered up although only the one seemed damaged. A tragedy that could have been even worse. The road wouldn't be my first choice but it was dry and clear and dead straight so they would have been visible hundreds of metres away. Deepest sympathies to all involved.
  • tebbit
    tebbit Posts: 604
    Deepest sympathies
  • ben16v
    ben16v Posts: 296
    yeah shocking was talking to a member in the gym who was held up for an hour behind it, he was shaken at the sight of the carnage.
    such a wrong road to be cycling on but that doesnt make it any better
    very sad
    i need more bikes
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    One thing I would add is a word for the emergency services. I went past the scene less than 10 minutes after the accident and there were 3 ambulances, several police cars and the air ambulance in attendance. Thought they were on some sort of organised ride as there was a guy in a lay-by the other side of the road with a bike on the roof making a phone call and he was later pulled up at the scene when the investigation was going on. Must have been horrendous for all the others to witness.
  • ThatBikeGuy
    ThatBikeGuy Posts: 394
    Such a waste of a young-ish life, least he died doing what he enjoyed i suppose.
    Cannondale SS Evo Team
    Kona Jake CX
    Cervelo P5
  • freehub
    freehub Posts: 4,257
    Never nice to hear of a life lost, but riding on a road like that is just asking for trouble.
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    From the police link it looks like they weren't local and so probably didn't know what the road is like.
  • jim453
    jim453 Posts: 1,360
    freehub wrote:
    Never nice to hear of a life lost, but riding on a road like that is just asking for trouble.

    Are you sure they were actually asking for trouble?

    At first glance I thought the thread was a joke. I've had worse accidents on or in the region of my A55 etc etc.

    Sorry to hear it is anything but.
  • simon_e
    simon_e Posts: 1,707
    freehub wrote:
    riding on a road like that is just asking for trouble.
    Why?

    That appears to be a very unsympathetic remark.

    The A5 which runs almost parallel is a much quieter and more enjoyable route IMHO. Such a shame that another life is lost.
    Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    They would have been visible for hundreds of metres as it was a clear day at the time and on a straight section, it was very windy though and an exposed section of road. I can only assume that not being from the area they hadn't realised the A5 provided a better alternative but then most people who time trial will regularly be riding on roads of a similar standard to the A55.
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    freehub wrote:
    Never nice to hear of a life lost, but riding on a road like that is just asking for trouble.

    Why should it be?

    Lovely to hear your sympathy.

    My thought go to the guys family.
  • Slacey
    Slacey Posts: 78
    More on this with a bit of background here - http://road.cc/content/news/34537-tragic-end-charity-challenge-memory-lost-friend
    It would seem they were on the A55 due to time constraints? Terrible loss regardless :(
    Freelance Journalist
    ex-Team Cycling Plus 2011
    Three Boardmans and a Spesh,
    numerous test rigs
  • RallyBiker
    RallyBiker Posts: 378
    I actually passed them a few minutes before the incident,on the opposite carriageway, on my way to Holyhead. At the time I thought them a bit stupid, especially as Sustrans route 8 runs parallel on one side and the old A5 on the other side. They did no favours to the situation riding bunched up in a pack in the slow lane either. Talking to my workmate who is in the fire brigade, who's station was called out, there was one fatality and 4/5 serious injuries, as an elderly lady ploughed into them and did not stop at the accident. She has now been arrested. A very sad and totally avoidable end to a charity bike ride that shouldn't have happened if the route had been planned better. :cry:
  • -spider-
    -spider- Posts: 2,548
    My thoughts are with the families and friends of all those involved.

    -Spider-
  • simon_e
    simon_e Posts: 1,707
    RallyBiker wrote:
    They did no favours to the situation riding bunched up in a pack in the slow lane either.
    Not sure why that's a bad thing - would make them very visible. Would you prefer them to be strung out in single file along the inside lane, and therefore less obvious to following traffic?
    RallyBiker wrote:
    an elderly lady ploughed into them and did not stop at the accident.
    The road.cc article states the driver, a man, was taken to hospital. So did he/she stop or not? Or is your workmate an unreliable source of information? :roll:

    Drivers should be retested at intervals and eyesight test should be conducted regularly and the result recorded at DVLA.
    Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
  • jeepie
    jeepie Posts: 497
    Sincere condolences to the families involved.

    I do find it frustrating that local cyclists who know the roads immediately state there is a better route. If you are not from the area how do you know? I'm trying to plan a ride from Leeds > Reading and was advised to ride the A60. How did they know the A55 was no go yet for some reason the A60 is fine?
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Yes, I agree Jeepie. Whilst the facts are still unknown to us all so the actual cause of the accident should not be guessed at. However, one thing is clear, the "route" was not the reason why this happened.

    A tragic waste of a young life and, whatever the root cause, nothing is going to change that. A sobering thought for us all to reflect on.
  • AndyF16
    AndyF16 Posts: 506
    Jeepie wrote:
    Sincere condolences to the families involved.

    I do find it frustrating that local cyclists who know the roads immediately state there is a better route. If you are not from the area how do you know? I'm trying to plan a ride from Leeds > Reading and was advised to ride the A60. How did they know the A55 was no go yet for some reason the A60 is fine?

    As it happens, the A60 is pretty much superseded single-carriageway, whereas that section (and most of the rest) of the A55 is motorway grade dual these days

    Not really criticising the riders, but it's not hard to do a bit of route planning with online maps augmented by websites like SABRE :idea:
    2011 Bianchi D2 Cavaria in celeste (of course!)
    2011 Enigma Echo 57cm in naked Ti
    2009 Orange G2 19" in, erm orange
  • amun1000
    amun1000 Posts: 242
    I see the police are appealing for witnesses. Lets hope some come forward

    Thoughts with the guys family

    I know one guy who was nearly killed (a month in a coma). There were no witnesses and he was told by the legal profession that it was his word against the driver, despite the driver being in the wrong (hit him @ 60 whilst cyclist turning right) He is only alive today by the fact that the driver rang the emergency services. The cyclist even had to replace the bike with his own money
    When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
  • Squillinossett
    Squillinossett Posts: 1,678
    freehub wrote:
    Never nice to hear of a life lost, but riding on a road like that is just asking for trouble.

    And you wonder why people think your a tw@t...

    Really sad to read anything like this, seems to have been a flurry of accidents posted of recent on here. Very worrying, and my condolences go out to his family & friends.

    Keep safe guys.
  • antooony
    antooony Posts: 177
    Dreadful news. Thoughts go out to the families of those involved. :(
  • RallyBiker
    RallyBiker Posts: 378
    Jeepie wrote:
    Sincere condolences to the families involved.

    I do find it frustrating that local cyclists who know the roads immediately state there is a better route. If you are not from the area how do you know? I'm trying to plan a ride from Leeds > Reading and was advised to ride the A60. How did they know the A55 was no go yet for some reason the A60 is fine?
    It's simple really.Google Sustrans and find a map of all the national cycle route in the UK. Surprised that you as a roadie would'nt find that second nature. Route 8 or Route 5 over Anglesey, pleasant cycle friendly quiet lanes.