2 Cyclists Killed on the A30

Stewpot407

Terrible accident..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-23143314

Mikey23

Oh dear how sad...

I live near the A30 and have seen quite a few joglers using it and been concerned for their safety. A two lane 'motorway' with a narrow 'hard shoulder' full of crap and catseyes, local riders don't go there because it is just too dangerous

slowbike

Mikey23 wrote:

Oh dear how sad...

I live near the A30 and have seen quite a few joglers using it and been concerned for their safety. A two lane 'motorway' with a narrow 'hard shoulder' full of crap and catseyes, local riders don't go there because it is just too dangerous

I've idly looked at a LEJOG route - and always planned to avoid the A30 ... never got further than Cornwall in the planning stage though - but safe to say I'd try and avoid all dual carriageways of a similar nature.

Sad for those involved though ...

Nick Cod

+1 for avoiding dual carriageways. I was asked to navigate a small group from London down to Dover last weekend, I'd plotted a route to deliberately avoid dual carriageways. However a two of the riders in the group decided they didn't want to listen and started to lead the group down the A20.

After an exchange of words at a service station I said you're carrying on without me I'm afraid as I want to go home to my wife and child tonight

My thoughts to the families of the two cyclists killed on the A30

Phil Fouracre

Just seen it on local news - terrible

Pross

Very sad, I witnessed the aftermath of similar a year or so back on Anglesey. Again, people doing a charity ride who had opted for a busy dual carriageway (the A55). I'm not sure why anyone would opt for the A30 as I don't think it is even the shortest route. I once ended up in a similar situation to the one someone describes above, riding with a group of French and German cyclists we met off a ferry in Newhaven to Southampton and they plotted a route along the A27, fortunately everyone saw sense and scrambled down an embankment onto a more suitable route.

peat

I don't want to sound like a toss-piece, but having taken one look at that road on gmaps, it would be in my 'avoid at all costs' list when it came to route planning.

Desperately sad for those involved and their families. RIP.

Skeets

Terrible news , my heart goes out to there love ones / family's . Must say I rode the direct route last year passing through the a30 solo , had a bright top on ( if that helped ) and had no near miss . Too many distractions in there lorrys / cars these days . Sad day .

Mikey23

Conditions pretty horrible here this morning. Has been raining on a strong westerly and quite overcast so not an ideal day even to be driving on the A30 let alone cycling. It's very exposed and subject to some pretty tough crosswinds. The hard shoulder is only about 2 ft wide. Most people seem to ride in there but it's pretty debris strewn and I think it must be quite difficult. The alternative to ride on the carriageway isn't a realistic option

I suppose it is convenient and you can crack on and get the mileage in. The alternative routes are not that brilliant either and there's a degree of risk whichever route you take

turnerjohn

RIP guys that kind sinks in these things do happen...and when you least expect it.

I actually find dual carriageways safer...ok speeds are yes higher BUT generally very straight and good visibility with no parked cars, no pedestrians to jump out at you etc and any on-off slips are staggered and again good visibility. In many ways narrow country roads are far more dangerous and speeds can be just as high....and yes I do ride both ! ....city traffic is still the most dangerous !

Be safe out there everyone !

daymerbay

Gutting news

+1 for avoiding the A30, I live nearby and wince when I see cyclists (most look like they are doing LEJOG) using this piece of road.

A plea to anyone planning LEJOG or JOGLE please use alternative routes they are there, I know we should be safe on the roads wherever they are but if you are planning to use the A30 please reconsider.

briantrumpet

Mikey23 wrote:

Conditions pretty horrible here this morning. Has been raining on a strong westerly and quite overcast so not an ideal day even to be driving on the A30 let alone cycling. It's very exposed and subject to some pretty tough crosswinds. The hard shoulder is only about 2 ft wide. Most people seem to ride in there but it's pretty debris strewn and I think it must be quite difficult. The alternative to ride on the carriageway isn't a realistic option

I suppose it is convenient and you can crack on and get the mileage in. The alternative routes are not that brilliant either and there's a degree of risk whichever route you take

I'm another one who wouldn't go near the A30 on a bike. Great for getting from A to B quickly in a car, but with the very narrow margin for error on either drivers' or cyclists' part, and the consequences of an error being severe, it's not a risk I'd take (and I won't ride dual-carriageway TTs because of that). In fact a real motorway would be far safer, as the hard shoulder is much wider. The number of times I've seen lorries wandering over the rumble strips on motorways, if the same happens on these quasi-motorways such as the A30 (or A38, in Devon), it's surprising more accidents don't happen.

Incidentally, with a bit of creativity, you can easily avoid the A30 - keep towards the north coast ... Newquay, Wadebridge, Camelford, Launceston, etc ... then you can veer off the route I did last year and up towards Bampton etc. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1474210 if you're doing LEJOG.

Of course, condolences to the families. Thankfully such deaths are relatively rare, but that's no consolation if it's your family that's been devastated.

slowbike

briantrumpet wrote:

and I won't ride dual-carriageway TTs because of that.

I asked a friend about dc TTs - his view was that they were safer because they're well signed, there is a greater presence of cyclists (ie you're more likely to notice them - even spread out) and then there's road conditioning - if most of the traffic is used to seeing riders at that time on that stretch then it won't be any surprise - all goes to reducing the risk.
Still not sure I'd want to ride one though!

briantrumpet

Slowbike wrote:

briantrumpet wrote:

and I won't ride dual-carriageway TTs because of that.

I asked a friend about dc TTs - his view was that they were safer because they're well signed, there is a greater presence of cyclists (ie you're more likely to notice them - even spread out) and then there's road conditioning - if most of the traffic is used to seeing riders at that time on that stretch then it won't be any surprise - all goes to reducing the risk.
Still not sure I'd want to ride one though!

I mentioned that only in passing - probably not to be debated here .. better in dedicated threads.

Mikey23

Yes, I quite often do the A395 up towards Camelford and the A39 Atlantic highway. Preferable to the A30 but still pretty scary at times... I have seen TTs on the A30 on a Sunday morning and with light traffic and good visibility it's a very different animal. I think this accident happened in the rush hour in pretty iffy conditions. I suppose its the risk we take, if your luck is out then there isn't a lot we can do about if an artic ploughs into the back...

antman1

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed.

Today, once again we have witnessed how dangerous the A30 is. As a regular cyclist to Cornwall and together with some cycling buddies who live in Cornwall we have began to create a focus point for those concerned with making Cornwall safer for cyclists. Strength in numbers from the local community as well as a national voice will help our lobbying power with the councils. Cornwall is a great place to cycle. Please add your voice https://www.facebook.com/BikeCornwall

Thank you, it's a sad day.

mididoctors

besides the danger real or imagined the A30 is a really boring ride

Monty Dog

Condolences to the families concerned but can't help think it was poor judgement on behalf of the riders to even consider riding on this stretch of A30 - perhaps the weather made them feel this was the least-worst option?

cougie

Awful news. My condolences to their families.

I can't say I know the A30 but I avoid fast dual carriageways if at all possible.
When I get round to LeJogging (probably when I retire and have time) I'm going to take the scenic route.

lawrences

terrible shame,

Even some of the single lane sections of the A30 can be sketchy at peak times. Misses out some beautiful scenery too.

smidsy

Sad and all that but let that be a lesson to all of us.

I have never understood why people cycle on high speed dual carriageways. There was a guy a few weeks ago on the new A46 dual carriageway (between Nott and Newark).

The old A46 runs parallel and is essentially empty. I was literally like WTF!

Toe knee

R.I.P. very sad news.

ademort

There were two killed here last Monday. Man and Wife hit in the cycling lane by a company van in broad daylight. Almost beyond belief that it can happen and had nothing to do with the low lying sun. Police arrested the driver and are checking his mobile phone records. There aren,t even any skidmarks. You never know in life whats round the corner and it,s probably better that way.

Mikey23

The lorry company was from my home town of launceston...

mallorcajeff

Wow thats terrible. Some awful pictures on the links. Seems the lorry gone right over the top of them. Makes you realise. Only this morning i was heading out to alcudia at 8.15 and a van passed me waaaay too close and too fast. I gave him a universal signal, he just ifnored me. Not two mins up the road (the albufera for those that know it) there is same van side of the road hazards on and a poor guy with a mountain bike in a ditch with a broken leg screaming in agony. How you canhave a near miss then less than 120 seconds later do the same again but worse.
Rip to the uk riders. Be safe out there

R0B75

smidsy wrote:

Sad and all that but let that be a lesson to all of us.

I have never understood why people cycle on high speed dual carriageways.

This. I pretty much avoid them at all costs because let's face it, most of them are NSL which immediately means "go as fast as you like"...

Imagine my surprise when a I discovered the route for a sportive I've signed up for goes down a dual carriageway. Not pleased. :evil: They claimed (when I mentioned my concern) they had good feedback about that section on the same sportive last year. :shock:

ademort

mallorcajeff wrote:

Wow thats terrible. Some awful pictures on the links. Seems the lorry gone right over the top of them. Makes you realise. Only this morning i was heading out to alcudia at 8.15 and a van passed me waaaay too close and too fast. I gave him a universal signal, he just ifnored me. Not two mins up the road (the albufera for those that know it) there is same van side of the road hazards on and a poor guy with a mountain bike in a ditch with a broken leg screaming in agony. How you canhave a near miss then less than 120 seconds later do the same again but worse.
Rip to the uk riders. Be safe out there

Did you report your near-miss to the police at the scene?

Pross

I think too many people jump to the conclusion that dual carriageway = dangerous but that's too simplistic. I wouldn't go near the A30 in Cornwall amongst many others. However, I feel safe TTing on a local stretch of the A40 as although speeds are high the traffic volumes are low, visibility is excellent, there are no junctions over an 8 mile length and when you look at the worn tyre marks on the surface even if a vehicle didn't see you there would be a very good chance they wouldn't hit you as the lanes are so wide. The same road two miles away I won't ride TTs on anymore and there have been a couple of people killed whilst racing on there.

amaferanga

Very sad.

I did LEJOG a few years back and at no point did I consider using the A30 despite the fact that I was doing 300km a day. There are good, safe alternatives that aren't even particularly hilly.

R0B75

Pross wrote:

I think too many people jump to the conclusion that dual carriageway = dangerous but that's too simplistic. I wouldn't go near the A30 in Cornwall amongst many others. However, I feel safe TTing on a local stretch of the A40 as although speeds are high the traffic volumes are low, visibility is excellent, there are no junctions over an 8 mile length and when you look at the worn tyre marks on the surface even if a vehicle didn't see you there would be a very good chance they wouldn't hit you as the lanes are so wide. The same road two miles away I won't ride TTs on anymore and there have been a couple of people killed whilst racing on there.

Its not jumping to conclusion at all, because they are dangerous places to be. Just because you feel safe on a certain stretch, as I do on my local stretch each morning (by car), it doesn't make them safe in any way for cyclists. The simple fact is, vehicles travel faster on dual carriageways simply because they are allowed to. Faster speeds means it takes longer to react to something or stop.

I'm guessing this was just a driver taking his eyes off the road for a second by changing radio station (or whatever) and would normally result in drifting to the side of the road and with a quick correction (brown trouser moment) and all is well, but today, bang, there were 2 poor cyclists!

All roads are dangerous full stop, but cyclists should avoid dual carriageways IMO. In fact I think cycling on them should be banned. I know, a little extreme, but I will never agree that any of them are safe.

steve6690

Skeets wrote:

Terrible news , my heart goes out to there love ones / family's . Must say I rode the direct route last year passing through the a30 solo , had a bright top on ( if that helped ) and had no near miss . Too many distractions in there lorrys / cars these days . Sad day .

This is the issue. Also, think about how many drivers you see on their mobile phones.