The death of retired Hamilton teacher and cyclist Graeme Michael "Mike" Leach is the subject of an inquest in Hamilton which continues today. Photo / Supplied
The death of retired Hamilton teacher and cyclist Graeme Michael "Mike" Leach is the subject of an inquest in Hamilton which continues today. Photo / Supplied
Cyclists are encouraged to move into the middle of the road at roundabouts and "take the lane" in a bid to keep themselves safe and visible to motorists, an inquest has heard.
The second and final day of Coroner Louella Dunn's inquest into the death of retired teacher and cyclist Graeme Michael [Mike] Leach began today.
Leach died after being struck by a truck and trailer unit at the intersection of Te Rapa Rd and Sunshine Ave about 11.30am on April 5, 2017.
A Halls Transport truck, being driven by Auckland man Michael Hodgins, was heading north on Te Rapa Rd approaching the Sunshine Ave roundabout at the time as Leach was cycling north.
Hodgins, who was convicted of careless driving causing death in 2018, turned left at the roundabout and collided with Leach on his bike.
The 67-year-old died of severe head injuries.
Simon Kennett, Waka Kotahi principal adviser, told the inquest that taking the lane was the term used for a cyclist moving into the centre of the lane at a roundabout, and was deemed the safest option for them as they are more visible to vehicles.
"It increases the likelihood of cyclists being seen and limits the ability for vehicles to overtake cyclists at the roundabout."
However, it was also a more "advanced manoeuvre", especially if there was a lot of traffic or if it was moving fast, but it had been highlighted in the 2020 update of the NZ Road Code as an appropriate manoeuvre for cyclists, he said.
Multi-lane roundabouts were more challenging and more of a risk for cyclists which was why most were reluctant to "take the lane", he said. He suggested "off-road" cycle paths could be a more suitable alternative.
Graeme "Mike" Leach's family, widow Ann (left), son Matt, and daughter Kate, hope there will be some change which comes out of the inquest into his death. Photo / Belinda Feek
He said raised safety platforms could work - despite opposition from Hamilton City Council yesterday - as they would force motorists to slow down to about 30km/h.
In questioning from HCC's counsel Megan Crocket, Kennett accepted any pedestrian or cyclist using the crossing on a multi-lane road would likely be blocked by a large vehicle and in a precarious position.
However, he said the risk of death or serious injury would be limited as the vehicle would be travelling at no more than 30km/h.
Narrowing road lanes was also another way of slowing traffic at roundabouts, he said.
As for truck safety and reducing blind spots, he suggested cameras or a sensor system on trucks as seen overseas.
"Cameras are becoming increasingly common in new trucks and are helping to [pick up on] blind spots."
However, he said there was no common standard among the world's four main truck builders and New Zealand didn't produce its own fleet.
"New Zealand is not in a good position to create its own standards and requirements."
It was not appropriate to mandate the use of cameras or a sensor system on trucks in New Zealand at the moment, he said.
Cycling advocate Chris Foggin told Dunn there was "a bit of misnomer in New Zealand that cyclists need to stay hard left".
"It's completely untrue."
He had ridden the roundabout at the centre of the inquest and said multi-lane roundabouts were "a challenge for everyone involved whether it's the motorist, the cyclist or the engineer that has to build them".
He was yet to see any completely segregated roundabouts for cyclists in New Zealand.
"We need something there that keeps them visible, rather than shrinking them into the road - whether it's a painted lane or whatever it needs to be."
Education around cycling and cyclists was improving but still had a long way to go, he said.
She appreciated the coroner's workload and had previously advocated for them to the Ministry of Justice in the past.
"I think we're people that can see things from both perspectives. So for us, this was about fairness to all that use the road. It's not about a cyclist or the truck driver or whatever."
Ann's sister was a truck driver, while Matt worked for the council and Kate had previously worked at Cycling NZ and was now working in public transport.
"In our family, we have people in all of those fields. If this can come out with some recommendations in terms of that education space that would be phenomenal," she said.
'Road marking change happen quick enough?'
Dunn also quizzed Kennett about the council contractor erroneously painting the cycle lane all the way to the roundabout, instead of stopping 30m short.
Implementation of the change was made under the Manual of traffic signs and markings (Motsam) rule change in 2011 for New Zealand roads.
The crash scene at the intersection of Te Rapa Rd and Sunshine Ave on April 5, 2017. Photo / Belinda Feek
Acting city transport manager Robyn Denton said yesterday they knew of the update but new road markings would only be made when there was specific work to be carried out.
Asked by Dunn if not making changes until the road required it was good enough, Kennett said Waka Kotahi would "certainly support quick changes knowing what we know now".
"We do a lot more training in the field of safe cycling infrastructure than what we did at the time."
Kennett recommended the council monitor the Te Rapa Rd/Sunshine Ave roundabout to track cyclists' behaviour and see how they were using it since it had been upgraded and whether it was enough.
Monitoring could involve setting up a camera or tapping into someone else's CCTV camera.
'HCC accept wrong road markings was a factor'
In her closing submissions to Dunn, Crocket said the council accepted that the wrong road markings were a factor in Leach's death.
"There was a programme of updating road markings over time and unfortunately that didn't happen as quickly as planned and there was a mistake that wasn't picked up before Mr Leach's death."
Denton accepted yesterday that the modifications to the roundabout were an improvement but were still "not as safe as she would like".
In his closing submission, Shafraz Khan, counsel for Halls Transport, said what was really lacking was "education: both ways, not only the drivers but of the cyclists and road users also".
With the increasing number of cyclists on the road, he said there needed to be some sort of uniformity about how everyone dealt with each other.
'Perverse funding model'
Victim Leach's son Matt asked James Hughes, lead safety adviser at Waka Kotahi, why the organisation had such a "perverse" funding model that only allocated money to certain roads or intersections that had a high fatality rate.
"You're waiting for death or injury before doing an upgrade."
Hughes admitted it wasn't ideal and said the Safer Journey funding model was "unfortunately ... an older funding model which didn't give due respect to safety issues".
"It is a challenge for us and we are moving to a more risk-based approach ... and focusing on harm minimisation."
'Licensing cyclists?'
Khan asked Kennett why Waka Kotahi did not use convex mirrors at roundabouts to help motorists identify cyclists.
Kennett said there was too much else for a driver to concentrate on at a roundabout.
Asked by Khan if they had considered licensing cyclists, Kennett said "no".
Matt Leach asked Kennett if there was any country in the world that licensed cyclists. Kennett also replied "no".
Dunn yesterday explained the scope of the inquest which was focusing on: does the expectation that a cyclist "take the lane" at a roundabout address safety concerns; do recent modifications to the Te Rapa roundabout address safety concerns, how does HCC monitor roadways to ensure cyclists are safe road users; and would any modifications to a truck have reduced the truck's blind spot and can any realistic recommendations be made.
