Pothole Death - Warning May Turn Into Helmet Debate!

Pross

Coroner's inquest has just been held after a cyclist died having hit a pothole in my area. I suspect this could be the first of several if roads aren't sorted out and Monmouthshire's roads are among the better ones I ride on. The coroner seems to have also gone down the lack of a helmet route as a mitigating factor, which I suppose it is, but it seems to be the main issue raised by the report whilst the focus should be on the road condition that caused the accident in the first place surely?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-24160361

slowbike

Hmm - they inspect the roads once a year ... in June ... is that really sensible given the effect that a harsh winter can have on the roads?!
Are there no council vehicles that ever go down that road?

No indication of what speed they were travelling or the proximity of other road users at the time?
Lack of helmet is a factor - but shouldn't be an excuse for the councils not to maintain the roads properly. Also, cyclists need to be responsible for their own safety too. They should be aware that roads are often poorly maintained and be actively checking for potholes - and pointing them out to others in their party if riding as a group.

What we should remember is that accidents happen - there are a lot of things we could've done to prevent them in hindsight - but you cannot possibly cover every eventuality.
In my opinion, councils are not spending money in the most effective areas and certainly are not efficient at prudent expenditure. But they cannot be held totally responsible for accidents on the roads - even if there are defects in the road - it is still our responsibility to navigate safely ...

Ouija

Pross wrote:

The coroner seems to have also gone down the lack of a helmet route as a mitigating factor, which I suppose it is, but it seems to be the main issue raised by the report whilst the focus should be on the road condition that caused the accident in the first place surely?

Lol. And if he'd been shot the coroner would of stated his death was due to his lack of wearing a bullet proof vest, not the gunman.

al_kidder

So what happened? Did the rider miss seeing a pothole and crash, or was he/she forced into it by traffic?

The Real Radioactiveman

Slowbike wrote:

Hmm - they inspect the roads once a year ... in June ... is that really sensible given the effect that a harsh winter can have on the roads?!
Are there no council vehicles that ever go down that road?

What we can all do to help is report any potholes you come across,then they are fixed quickly in my experience .

marcusjb

Exactly this. Using the fillthathole app from ctc etc. holes do get fixed.

It also means the council are aware of them and can not rely on the 'we didn't know about it' defense.

Awful story. RIP.

Pross

I'm going to be prejudiced here but as the deceased was a 72 year old woman I suspect speed wasn't a factor.

Bordersroadie

That's a very sad tale.

I imagine that regardless of the cause, it falls into the category of "one cycling accident in x,000 will result in a death".

In all likelihood this sad death could equally have been via any number of other causes, say slipping on a diesel spill or going too fast on a wet corner, but none of these would be as headline-grabbing as "pothole (i.e. subscript: left unrepaired by negligent council) causes death".

Barteos

As long as helmets aren't compulsory there is absolutely no way that not wearing one should be a mitigation factor in any accidents caused by someone or something else.
The coroner wouldn't use the same argument if a pedestrian was involved, would he?