A Wellington businessman believes he’s lucky to have walked away without serious injuries after a turning car cut him off during his morning cycle to work, sending him hurtling on to the road.
The man, who asked to be referred to as Yats, said he was left with minor aches and pains after the crash yesterday, but it could have been much worse had he not already slowed down in preparation for such an incident.
Yats was cycling down the capital’s Ngaio Gorge on Monday as he does every workday, travelling in the shared bus and cycle lane past a line of backed-up cars.
“Ngaio Gorge is quite steep so you’re generally going quite fast,” he told the Herald. “I saw that traffic was backing up, so I started slowing down.”
He had been travelling about 45km/h according to a speedometer, and believes he had slowed down to 20-25km/h when passing the queued cars. Had he continued at speed, he thinks he would have been in “way worse condition”.
Yats hit the brakes on his bike, which sent him flying over the handlebars and onto the road.
“I saw a car turn in. I had slowed down quite a bit by then but it was still a bit too late.
“I was literally like ‘oh f***, here we go’. I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. I knew there was no way I was going to get out of it, it was too late.”
The car, which had been allowed through the traffic to turn into a driveway, pulled across the bus lane when Yats was just a couple of metres away and unable to stop.
He hit the brakes and flipped over his handlebars, tumbling on to the road and sending his bike flying. The bike’s tyre broke one of the windows on the car, he said.
“I don’t remember much of the actual impact but I hit my head on something... I must have hit my shoulder because my shoulder’s quite sore.”
Yats said the driver stopped immediately and “was really good about it”.
“A lot of people stopped and a lot of people were going quite hard at the driver, and he acknowledged he was wrong.”
He said the driver gave him his details and also contacted him later in the day to check on his health.
Yats said in such situations when traffic was backed up, if turning traffic did not have a clear view of the lane they were crossing, they should wait.
A car pulled across the bus and cycle lane just metres in front of Yats.
Cyclists faced a “catch 22″ on Ngaio Gorge, needing to strike the right balance between going fast enough that road users behind them did not get annoyed and going slow enough that they could react if someone pulled out in front of them.
He captured video of the crash with a camera on his bike, which he put on social media after experiencing other incidents during his commute, including one where he was sworn at and abused by drivers who cut him off on a bike lane.
“I get the sense after a few incidents that people have this distaste towards cyclists,” he said.
He wanted other road users to know cyclists did not deserve their ire.
“I run a business, I’m a professional, I pay taxes, I’m a father... I just want to get from home to work. I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”
Cycling advocate Patrick Morgan said all road users need to follow the rules. Photo / File
He has reported yesterday’s incident to the police due to the damage done to his new bike.
Police confirmed to the Herald they are aware of the incident.
Cycling advocate Patrick Morgan had seen the video of the incident.
“It’s really disturbing to see anyone have a crash on our streets,” he said.
“It appears from the video that the driver did something illegal... it’s very clear that all road users have to give way according to the road rules. It’s clear on the video that this driver didn’t do that.”
Morgan noted there were two types of bus lanes in Wellington, those which were for buses only, typically marked with the words “bus only”, and those that could be used by buses, motorbikes, scooters, and in-service taxis. The lane in question was the latter.
He said he was glad to see Yats had already slowed down before the crash, as he “probably prevented a much worse injury”.
“This is yet another reminder that there are consequences to bad decisions, so all road users need to be careful to follow the rules and look out for others.”
He noted at this particular area, traffic usually only backed up for a short while and would clear at each traffic light cycle. He suggested turning traffic wait until the road was clear rather than passing through gaps in queued traffic when they could not see clearly.
An AA spokeswoman said drivers needed to make sure lanes they were turning across were clear before going.
“This can be more difficult if your visibility is reduced due to a build-up of traffic and if there’s multiple lanes to cross. Solid yellow lines, like in the video, are generally marked in locations where visibility is limited, so that’s why it’s so important to check twice, and make the turn cautiously while constantly scanning for hazards,” she said.
“The driver who stopped in traffic to give way could have checked their wing mirror and their blind spots first for cyclists before signalling to the oncoming driver to go ahead, however the main responsibility to check the path is clear lies with the turning vehicle.”
The spokeswoman said the cyclist had right of way but should also keep in mind they are “significantly harder to see than a bus”, and recommended cyclists reduce their speed when there is decreased visibility.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
