I think if Ben Kersten and some of the other more ‘well known’ cyclists weren’t involved, we probably wouldn’t have even heard about it at all! :x
Cycle pack pile-up: man charged
Daniel Emerson
May 13, 2008 - 7:34AM
A 34-year-old driver has been charged over a pile-up involving up to 50 elite cyclists in Kensington last Thursday which threatens to derail the Olympic preparation of cycling champion Ben Kersten.
Kate Nichols, who suffered horrific injuries during a crash in Germany in 2005 with the Australian women’s road cycling team which killed Amy Gillett, was also riding in the large pack after a long lay-off from cycling.
Cyclists in the group, many of whom received cuts and bruises after crashing while travelling close to 60kmh, reported that an older model Ford Falcon sedan swerved into their lane and slammed its brakes on.
Several riders collided with the back of the car and scores were treated by paramedics.
Police yesterday served the driver at his Claymore home with a court summons for leaving the scene without supplying his details.
The driver, calling himself “Jason”, telephoned Macquarie Radio last Friday and claimed his car had stalled after “the airbox popped” and blamed the cyclists for failing to watch where they were going.
An angry Ben Kersten later rang the radio station claiming “Jason” was a liar.
“We have 50 witnesses to say everything you have said is false,” he said.
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash and may lay further traffic charges.
Mascot police Inspector Andrew Bullock said: “There are still two or three more cyclists to be spoken to.”
Kate Nichols’s father, 1984 Olympic cycling gold medallist Kevin Nicholls, said he was not happy at the news of the charge but was satisfied.
“Nobody’s happy with the situation that’s occurred, I am not sure what action the police have planned but at least it’s a start,” he said.
Mr Nichols, who was also riding in the pack last Thursday, said he would “definitely” be willing to give his version of events in a court room.
He said his daughter was trying to recover from fresh injuries sustained last week.
“She’s got abrasions, bruises and she’s probably going to need some physio to fix up some strains,” he said. “I heard (Olympian) Michelle Ferris cracked a rib.”
Some media-crit observations shared with cfsmtb:
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The SMH are still calling the driver ‘furious’ instead of ‘homicidal’, and the article is still part of the ‘beijing2008’ hierarchy instead of being a crime / general interest story; there may be logistic or technical reasons for leaving things the way they are. He ‘took them out’ but I don’t think he asked them in for coffee afterwards.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/beijing2008/furious-driver-takes-out-50strong-cycle-pack/2008/05/08/1210131112608.html -
It’s now a cycle pack pile-up - maybe they all fell down, just like on television!
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‘Hit-and-run’ is clearly the most applicable expression to describe what happened. Oh are we waiting for his ‘version’ of events? There are two sides to every story, after all.
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All smh articles have a feature call-out in the bottom right corner of the page, which after a couple of refreshes, or on the first go, features a link to the SMH’s carporn article on the latest Ford Falcon XR6. Even the petrolheads are getting tired of the sycophantic pandering to the auto industry. It’s pretty clear why the papers won’t cover this incident, and anything that happens afterwards, from a truly independent position. Have you seen the size of the advertising pullouts they’re printing these days? What does a four-page, full colour, broadsheet ad cost?
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I would have thought this article was just as relevant to the original story. I guess the SMH knows not to put all the ‘people driving like morons’ stories together for fear of upsetting their advertisers.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/pplater-clocked-80kmh-above-speed-limit/2008/05/13/1210444375795.html
ps. Age’s link as of right now is b0rken. Although I shouldn’t presume conspiracy when incompetence will suffice should I? http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/cyclepack-crash-driver-charged/2008/05/13/1210444378555.html
That’s contextual advertising, so you shouldn’t really be surprised. Most of the time it goes wrong because most of the stories involve a tragedy of some sort (such as a fire, shark attack, car accident) and ads are targetted based on keywords within the article (e.g. ‘fire’ sale, loan ‘sharks’). I think the SMH and The Age have given it more than reasonable coverage (online at least, i don’t read the broadsheet), considering no one died, and all that resulted was a few boo boos and some damaged bikes. The online divisions of newspapers have more freedom as far as content goes, as their advertising revenue is worth a pittance as compared to the print edition. Let’s keep things in perspective.
On the positive side, I’m glad they’ve laid charges, it was looking a bit sketchy there for a couple of days. It’s a weak charge, but a charge nevertheless.
http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/05/12/Driver_involved_in_50bicycle_accident_goes_missing
The radio interview, c/- cfsmtb. (Yeah I know he’s been served since.)
I like how he mentions his witness like that’s going to help his cause - when you’ve got 50 people saying they saw them both laughing at the accident they’d just caused. So blase, so thick, so potentially deadly.
I still don’t think we can expect the papers to give balanced coverage to anything related to road use when they take so much money from the manufacturers. Probably their largest single source of advertising revenue by sector, with the possible exception of real estate.
From this morning’s Age:
"A driver involved in an accident with a pack of 50 elite cyclists in eastern Sydney last week will face court next month. The cyclists were on a training ride on Southern Cross Drive near Sydney Airport in Kensington early last Thursday morning when a car stopped suddenly in front of them. More than 20 riders, including professional cyclists Kate Nichols and Olympic hopeful Ben Kersten, crashed into the back of the car, with some suffering minor cuts and abrasions.
The driver allegedly drove away from the scene. A 34-year-old Claymore man was yesterday issued with a court attendance notice for the offence of not supplying particulars.He is due to appear at Waverley Local Court in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on June 26. Police said inquiries were continuing into the cause of the collision.
AAP"
Charged with “not supplying particulars”.
Doesn’t really cut it eh?
I’m trying to look at this all objectively. I can’t imagine he’s going to get done with anything beyond failing to stop. Sounds like there’s too much room for “beyond reasonable doubt”
What happened with the off-duty cop that apparently witnessed it? I would have thought he could clear it all up pretty easily.
I guess the thing that bugs me the most is the duality that these angry motorists have and the inability to see it or even sympathise. Bike riders should be made to follow the road rules. They should be on the foot path. There was one guy taking up the whole lane. etc etc etc
Given how sport crazy Australia is, you’d think that the “celebrity” status of some of those involved would cause the outcome of the situation to be favourable towards cyclists. If anything it seems to be in favour of the driver. It seems that: olympian + cycling = slightly better than pond scum, in the eyes of the media, politicians etc.
I guess I can’t help but feel optimistic that things will get a lot better in the long run. With petrol prices headed the way they are, and mounting pressure to stop procrastinating on climate change, cycling and public transport MUST inevitably get better. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon, but surely it has to happen at some stage. Surely?
I was outraged just this morning about plans for an $9 BILLION 18km car tunnel from footscray to clifton hill. That’s $500 million per km. I’m absolutely gobsmacked that a proposal like that isn’t instantly dismissed in a fit of hysterics.
The article actually calls for a ban on building new freeways as it’s actually worse in the long run. At least the French president is pledging to put an end to new motorways and airports and to put money back into rail networks. France is an amazing place to ride in. The cars just sit patiently behind you at a non-threatening distance until there is room to safely overtake.
Viva la Velolution!
but, check out the penalties for failing to stop… i’m not sure why they chose to charge him for not supplying particulars.
Brendan’s law
Home > Rules and regulations > Brendan’s lawNew penalties for failing to stop after a vehicle accident
Recent tragic cases in NSW and other States have highlighted what can happen when drivers leave the scene of an accident and don’t stop to help victims. Drivers need to be aware that with the privilege of driving on our roads comes a responsibility to fellow road users.
In 2004 a small boy riding a bicycle died in a terrible collision where the driver of the car involved did not stop. Thanks to a long campaign by his father a new offence of failing to stop (attracting much heavier penalties) has been introduced to the Crimes Act 1900 to recognise his death and society’s attitude.
Brendan’s law
From Monday, 13 February 2006, the Crimes Amendment (Road Accidents) (Brendan’s Law) Act 2005 increases the maximum penalty for drivers who fail to stop after a vehicle impact to 10 years imprisonment where a person has been killed and up to seven years in the case of grievous bodily harm. Lengthy periods of licence disqualification also apply.
The new legislation requires a driver to stop and give any assistance that may be necessary and that is in their power to give if the driver knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the vehicle impact has resulted in death or grievous bodily harm to a person.
These maximum penalties are the same as those for dangerous driving occasioning death and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm in section 52A of the Crimes Act 1900. As a result there will be no advantage for a driver who flees an accident and knows, or ought reasonably to have known, that death or grievous bodily harm was caused by the impact.
Section 70 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 has also been amended to include the requirement for a driver to stop where the driver knows, or ought reasonably to have known that the vehicle impact has resulted in either the death of or any physical injury to another person.
A vehicle impact can mean a collision between a vehicle and another vehicle, a vehicle and an object or an object on another vehicle, a vehicle and an object that has fallen from another vehicle or a person falling or being thrown from a vehicle.
Who does Brendan’s law apply to?
Any person who drives a vehicle – irrespective of age or whether they hold a driver licence.
What are your responsibilities?
Under Brendan’s law a driver involved in an accident must stop and assist directly or contact police or emergency services. It does not mean that people must perform first aid when they are not qualified to do so, or rescue someone in dangerous circumstances.
Where can I view Brendan’s law?
To view the legislation, go to www.legislation.nsw.gov.au and use the Search In Force or Browse A-Z In Force functions to look up the Crimes Amendment (Road Accidents) (Brendan’s Law) Act 2005.
Because that way he can get off with a slap on the wrist…
four of us out for our normal saturday morning ride today: the level of agro on the roads in sydney is palpable. we dont usually have any trouble, but today we copped more abuse, near misses and just general disdain from drivers than usual. example: riding up bondi road, a guy in a 4wd was pulling out from a side street, made eye contact with me and my mate, then pulled out so close in front of us we had to slow down. among other incidents.
we’re all pretty sensible and good natured so didnt escalate anything, but it was just really noticable.
arguments are raging all over sydney about that road rage incident. getting quite heated on both sides. why cant we all just get along?
jesus.
That prick didn’t front court for a second time today! :evil:
Asshole’s like him just make me sad for society in general.
cunts are cunts.
‘car troubles’, what a ploy.
Creating ‘evidence’ that backs up his original claim about the call stalling…
i think your giving this guy too much credit
He should be charged with negligently driving a car that was in poor condition, resulting in injury and damage. Turd.