Car ploughs into cyclists on Beetham killing two, injuring many

[bess almera]

Beetham pics or details anyone

[nick639v2]

8am beetham
cyclists get mowed down by vehicle, 2 Persons were on the ground traffic still here at 8.50. pink and green squad that usually ride on the highway.


8.50
Sea lots by the market, fender bender between cerato and lancer as well

[pugboy]

saw horrible vids

[K74T]

BEETHAM CRASH UPDATE: 2 fatalities in an early morning accident on the Beetham. A car ploughed into members of the Slipstream Cycling Club of Port of Spain...
Two dead: British cyclist Joanna Banks, 40 who died on the scene and Joe Browne, Chef of Jaffa who died later at Mt One other injured is Adelino Perreira.
Police and Fire Service responded.
Driver of vehicle claims that he had a tire blowout when he hit the group of cyclist who were heading east.
Fourteen cyclists set out from the Oval this morning at 6:15 for their weekend ride.
One of the cyclists said he heard a screeching noise before the car hit the group and tossed many of them into the nearby ditch.

[agent007]

The cycling community has learnt nothing after the untimely passing of Clinton Grant.

[rebound]

Did they have an escort?

[Pointman-IA]

The question is going to be asked : Are cyclists allowed on the highway?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

[KM_2NR]

Did they have an escort?

Willing to bet they didn't , saw a bunch of cyclist yesterday afternoon leaving POS , no escort . Which is absolutely crazy in my opinion. Wonder if the driver was listening to sum Bill Burr.

[rebound]

The question is going to be asked : Are cyclists allowed on the highway?

Well the huge signs saying no cyclist, pedestrians etc is probably a decoration....I pass cyclists on the highway shoulder wondering if they are mad people or have alot of faith in the motorists...is there a charge for this tho and if so why is it not enforced on the cyclists?

[agent007]

If the cycling community was made up of beetham residents then expect the status quo to remain or the complete ban of this activity on the nations roads.
The truth is many cyclists are members of the 1 and 2% fraternity and therefore, expect changes which will grant them more rights to a road and major highways soon.

[Soul Collector]

If the cycling community was made up of beetham residents then expect the status quo to remain or the complete ban of this activity on the nations roads.
The truth is many cyclists are members of the 1 and 2% fraternity and therefore, expect changes which will grant them more rights to a road and major highways soon.

Doesn't matter if anything at all is put in place for them to ride bike on the highway or not. They still have to be pretty brave (IMO stupid) to put their lives at risk on our roads with the kantholes we have for drivers here. No sign or law is going to stop a kanthole in a tiida or almera from killing you.

[hydroep]

Did they have an escort?

This.

If they didn't the authorities should make an example of the lot and charge them...

[Les Bain]

A little after 7:15 this morning, heading west after Trincity lights I encountered a large group of cyclists. They were accompanied by a panel van with sponsor logos (as well as a club/team logo) and 2 police escorts: one to their rear and a scout higher up, who would act like the traffic light breaker to let the group sail through red lights.

What was interesting today is the group occupied 2 lanes; drivers would have to make do with the right lane or be waved off by the police or the team van driver. Thought they were the group involved in the accident but the report states it happened before 7.

Anyway, a lot of the commenters on social media parroting what I've seen on a few highway signs that cyclists aren't allowed on the highway. Fair enough, but why are these "illegal cyclists" allowed bike cops and in the case of what I saw this morning, 2 highway lanes?

[pugboy]

They had police escort, cyclists are only not allowed on ubh.
Beetham, and crh allowed.

The question is going to be asked : Are cyclists allowed on the highway?

Well the huge signs saying no cyclist, pedestrians etc is probably a decoration....I pass cyclists on the highway shoulder wondering if they are mad people or have alot of faith in the motorists...is there a charge for this tho and if so why is it not enforced on the cyclists?

[Rovin]

condolences to d families of d deceased ...

[foots]

If the cycling community was made up of beetham residents then expect the status quo to remain or the complete ban of this activity on the nations roads.
The truth is many cyclists are members of the 1 and 2% fraternity and therefore, expect changes which will grant them more rights to a road and major highways soon.

The truth? Sort of. A bicycle is one of the cheapest forms of transportation (Transportation eh, not sport/recreation). A lot of folks simply can't afford to drive and they get around on bicycles in Trinidad. So it is not only the 1%. My coworkers and I are not part of any 1%, and we ride into Port of Spain during the slow moving weekday traffic jams all the while (on the main roads). Much less risk of getting killed compared to the highway. Cyclists on highways is a terrible idea. The risk of serious injury or death is just too high if there is a collision between a slow moving cyclist and a fast moving car.

I do think there is an argument for encouraging more cyclists on our roads though (not our highways). Or at least making it safer to do so.
Our traffic problems are sufficiently terrible for a bicycle to be markedly faster on the road than a car during congested periods (mornings and afternoon rush hours on many of our main roads). It would benefit alot more than just the 1% to encourage riding as a mode of transport in Trinidad. For starters it will alleviate our traffic congestion by taking cars off of the road, and help tackle our rising rates of obesity/diabetes/hypertension/heart disease/cancer.

Or we can ban all cycling in our roads. Make it so that you can only get from place to place in Trinidad safely in a sedentary way - driving. That way we can ensure that we will always have traffic jams, worsening air quality and a fatter, unhealthier population.

You can learn more about why making cycling less accessible is a bad idea, if you check the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/DuckTrafficTT/

[pugboy]

With arguments like that
We better eliminate sidewalks to allow extra lanes for cars

[rebound]

Are there any cycle tracks they can use to train?

[l33t2]

Fine debate this issue, it is paramount given the incident today.

But, please let's not forget 2 people lost their lives doing something they loved. Very very sad.

And as mentioned before. The cycling community is very influential, yes 1% so expect some changes enacted after this incident.

[Ben_spanna]

Some of the comments here are the perfect examples of why Trinidad and Tobago will forever remain a third world sh1thole place and will not be aspiring to go “green” for several decades to come.

[foots]

With arguments like that
We better eliminate sidewalks to allow extra lanes for cars

Great idea. It is what we have been doing in Trinidad for decades. Building more roads and getting the same or worse traffic. Traffic jams by their nature impose a very low speed limit on cars, thus making it relatively safer to ride a bike around.

All over the world, cities are realising that putting everyone in a private car is just a great way to make it harder for everyone (particularly motorists) to move around. Hence bike lanes begin popping up.

[maj. tom]

Yeah but it was an accident. Tire blow, driver trying to control and pull onto shoulder. But then it have cyclist on the highway who not supposed to be there. If you want to ride on the highway you should have a police escort.

Yeah it sad, but what choice the driver had? Could have been you. Could have been your wife. What decision to make in that split second? This is a case where you have to die because you're stupid. And now the driver has to live with it on his conscience forever.

[Ben_spanna]

Tyre blow out.... steering rod break, driver still Killed 2 people as a result- that’s 2 counts of Involuntary Manslaughter.... accident or not.

[agent007]

Foots,

1. While I applaud you for doing the healthy thing by using bicycles to head into pos on a morning, I am willing to bet that you are not using a professional road bike. It is not feasible to use such a bike used by an avid member of the cycling community to simply head to and from work on a weekday. This sounds a bit shady though, I would never doubt people cycle to work but not how do you all deal with being sweaty by the time you reach to the air conditioned office? Or is it, casual riders who use regular bicycles to head into pos on a weekday have non shirt and tie jobs?
2. The cost of a professional road bike is a lot more than a conventional mountain/bmx bike so therefore, for the non enthusiast, such professional cycling bikes are not readily accessible to the wider 98% of the population. We much rather buy a nice mountain bike for $1,000. On special.
3. Based on the above, only enthusiasts and those who can genuinely afford the bike to be part and parcel of this 'clique-ish' community are the ones doing the island-wide runs with their respective teams/clubs. This community in case you did not know are members of the 1 and 2 percentile of this country.
If anyone doesnt believe me, go to any cycling meet/event or check their fb pages and see the surnames attached to this.
4. Based on 3 above, there are enough influential people who are vexed by today's news and rest assured, we will be hearing of changes in due course.
5. Be it as it may, our driving discipline in this country is too immature which is exacerbated with poor road infrastructure. I don't care how deep your love for cycling is, I don't care what the colour of your skin is, I don't care if you're a chef or an engineer at BP or a child of a 1 percenter, if anyone chooses out of their own free will to cycle on our nations roadways including highways whether with or without an escort, you're taking a huge risk, moreso than the typical risk of entering your motor vehicle and commuting to pos on a morning.
6. Our roads are swamped with gridlock traffic on a daily basis and the cycling community are not bound by a time per say to enjoy their sport/hobby. As long as they have the support from the TTPS, they will be more important than the rest of us by occupying a lane or two in a 3 lane stretch, which contributes more commuting delays to the driving public.
7. Wrt today, the driver of that silver Kia Spectra may still be charged with involuntary manslaughter whether he passed the brethalyser test or not.
8. This is a learning lesson to all of us, to avoid trouble and to not go looking for it, always exercise caution especially around sea lots residents and cyclists etc. Not all of our lives are equally important by the state.
9. On a morning for a particular time frame, the right lane around the QPS is dedicated to cyclists where drivers must give way. This has caused unnecessary traffic delays on many occasions.
10. I sure would like to ask the CoP, how does a cycling club get that right to summon uniformed police officers to escort a love for a hobby to inconvenience the population and when in genuine need for assistance, we are told that the station does not have a vehicle to respond to emergencies.

[ruffneck_12]

Are there any cycle tracks they can use to train?

Around the QPS early sunday morning is probably the best place to train. Or tucker valley golf course.

A bicycle is the equivalent to a slow car. Which is dangerous if they occupy a lane.
The amount of times I had to mash brakes because te car in front me swerved to avoid them and I saw them too late.

Serious cyclists are a pretentious bunch. You ain't liscenced like a car, so you don't have the same rights.
RIP to those two but goddamn, darwin awards were given out.

[pugboy]

Rumors that tire blowout was not the cause,
Ppl claiming cctv footage shows car hitting another car whilst changing lanes dangerously

[Dizzy28]

With arguments like that
We better eliminate sidewalks to allow extra lanes for cars

Great idea. It is what we have been doing in Trinidad for decades. Building more roads and getting the same or worse traffic. Traffic jams by their nature impose a very low speed limit on cars, thus making it relatively safer to ride a bike around.

All over the world, cities are realising that putting everyone in a private car is just a great way to make it harder for everyone (particularly motorists) to move around. Hence bike lanes begin popping up.

Cyling to work in Europe and in Trinidad is two different kettle of fish. Here its 30+ degrees celcius in the mornings and higher during the day coupled with high humidity. Cyling to work becomes impractical unless you going to shower and change in work.

[dregz]

I'm wondering if the small hills and valley on the highways, that already make it dangerous to switch lanes had anything to do with this mornings incident?

Our roads are horrible and our highways, IMO are worse than some of our side streets.

[l33t2]

With arguments like that
We better eliminate sidewalks to allow extra lanes for cars

Great idea. It is what we have been doing in Trinidad for decades. Building more roads and getting the same or worse traffic. Traffic jams by their nature impose a very low speed limit on cars, thus making it relatively safer to ride a bike around.

All over the world, cities are realising that putting everyone in a private car is just a great way to make it harder for everyone (particularly motorists) to move around. Hence bike lanes begin popping up.

Cyling to work in Europe and in Trinidad is two different kettle of fish. Here its 30+ degrees celcius in the mornings and higher during the day coupled with high humidity. Cyling to work becomes impractical unless you going to shower and change in work.

To be fair, I sweat a lot cycling in Europe, but my office had showers so it's just a matter of adapting to a different way of doing things.