A cyclist taking part in last week’s Deloitte Ride Across Britain has died from the injuries she sustained when she was involved in a collision with a car on Friday.
Sally Preece, aged 49 and from Cheltenham, was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital near Falkirk after the incident which took place at around 11am on the A85 close to Loch Earn.
She died at the hospital on Saturday, with her family having travelled up from London to be at her bedside.
The cyclist had been taking part in the nine-day mass participation ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.
So far donations on her Just Giving page stand at more than £5,000 against her target of £4,000.
She is the second woman to have lost her life while taking part in an end-to-end ride this month.
The Saturday before last, 34-year-old Anna Roots from London was killed following a collision with a lorry at Bettyhill, just 55 miles into the John O’Groats to Land’s End ride she was undertaking with a friend.
23 thoughts on “Deloitte Ride Across Britain rider dies in hospital”
People should not be killed
People should not be killed doing something they love. Each story I read I find harder & harder to deal with.
This lady was raising money for a good cause, & I just find it all so sad.
My thoughts are with her family & friends. Rest in peace Sally, keep riding.
where will this end,
i too
where will this end,
i too find it harder and harder to rear, especially as when its roads you know and ride,
that picture could be any of us up there – and who is trying to protect us, make it safer to cycle.
what is really difficult to comprehend is this rash of deaths and accidents are all broad daylight in good conditions.
i’m finding that difficult to accept…
It’s not as if they were
It’s not as if they were diving into a volcano….all they were doing was riding bikes. It’s just not acceptable for so many people to be getting killed doing an everyday activity….if this many people died on a building site they close the place down. Die on the road and it’s just seen as an acceptable cost of our transport infrastructure.
My thoughts go out to the family.
My thoughts go out to the
My thoughts go out to the family.
But again, no details of the dynamic of the crash from Road CC!!!. So which lesson can we learn?
Riccardo_M wrote:again, no
I think Road cc is just re-reporting the news. It would be good if there could be some later follow-up though – the mainstream media will have long-departed but there are official reports and inquests in many cases – it would be good to know what investigation and examination reveals.
Riccardo_M wrote:My thoughts
Yes, we might not be able to speculate if a helmet, or more hi-vis, or whatever talisman is being hocked this week, would have helped. Woe is us.
Riccardo_M wrote:My thoughts
This is why there will be an inquest. It is not for Road.cc or any reader to speculate at this stage, we simply will not have enough evidence.
If the attached pictures on other related items are to be believed, from where I sit I can see two probable scenarios, either she shot out of the side road and got hit, or the car shot out the side road and hit her. But the junction might be nothing to do with it and it was a failed overtake etc etc etc. Leave it to the inquest and the police. Hopefully both will take their responsibility seriously and we will get appropriate action if someone was driving dangerously.
I suspect that the photo used
I suspect that the photo used in the online reports is a library or google/bing street picture (at Lix Toll). I believe that the accident was nearer Lochearnhead on a section of road with no main junctions, about 2-5 miles further south, earlier in the route.
GaryT wrote:I suspect that
I guess we will learn more in time. Probably the chosen image simply reflects where the road closure to deal with the incident started – it would have to be at a junction so that a diversion could be set up, as the BBC photo caption indicates. Says nothing about where the incident actually took place.
Riccardo_M wrote:My thoughts
You make a good point Riccardo. A lot of people seem to think that de facto that the roads should be safe enough to ride without any form of learning, or skills base. Fundamentally this is the wrong start point.
It does matter that she died, but equally it does matter if she was making the right decisions on the road and if she played any part in her own demise (as much as any others involved).
It is terribly sad what has happened and I can only imagine how her friends, family and other riders feel right now. But equally it doesn’t help to report something where the causes are unknown. It skews the view of cycling as a de facto dangerous activity, when things like skill and experience minimise these things. I guess I get fed up of seeing people put themselves in danger on their bikes knowingly and unknowingly. Cycling isn’t dangerous and the roads are dangerous, it the people who use them that make it that way.
Is it just me, or do LEJOG
Is it just me, or do LEJOG rides have a higher fatality rate than other kilometres ridden? Just a vague feeling based on my surprise at hearing how frequently LEJOG is mentioned in cyclist deaths in UK.
Paul J wrote:Is it just me,
I am not sure whether they do but statistically they would. Compared to normal cycling LEJOG riders are going to be on more dangerous roads and at more dangerous times and be more tired. Whereas normal cyclists may take a view of the weather may decide against riding that day, or start later, take a break or pack it in for the day LEJOG riders don’t. The same with roads. Many a time on a longer touring route that looked OK on paper I haven’t fancied the road and just decided to get off it and work my way round even if the schedule gets thrown out. Can’t do that on a LEJOG attempt. You are just stuck on your schedule come what may and if that means being the only cyclist on a busy main road with not much wiggle room in bad light, high winds and in the rushhour then so be it.
Paul J wrote:Is it just me,
Maybe. But then the kilometres ridden is much higher than most people so who knows. It doesn’t really matter. A tragic loss of life.
My thoughts go out to the family and friends.
Paul J wrote:Is it just me,
I have no statistics, but when I rode LEJOG with the RAB they said that statistically speaking they should have had a death by then (2012). So it would seem that they, or their organisation were bucking the trend….but what they were comparing it to, I don’t know.
Oh no, I guess this is the
Oh no, I guess this is the lady from work. RIP.
A85 is typical of A road all
A85 is typical of A road all across the country. Just Google Street view it sometime and ask yourself why is there no separation for cyclists?
It’s not because there is no space. There’s just no will to do it.
How many have to die before road design and regulation comes up to anything like a reasonable standard?
I was on the Scottish leg of
I was on the Scottish leg of RAB this year.
I can say that rider discipline was a hugely important part of the ride, and group riding was something that was really very good indeed. The organisers had stressed the importance of riding safely on this particular road, and from what I know this was being done.
All riders were wearing helmets, many had lights and hi-viz etc on as well, but as we are aware, this only does so much.
The causes are known, but not well-known, as someone has already said, that is what inquests etc are for. I doubt very much whether Road.cc have the full details, because they will be known by very few.
It’s a terrible incident,and the riders and crew of the event were deeply upset by it.
The ride continued the next day, the Lloyds riders were fantastic, riding in and out like a real team and they were rewarded by a heart-felt ovation on their return that evening by all present.
A fantastic event, marred by a terrible incident. I will be writing it up in the next day or so.
Hard to comprehend. Massive
Hard to comprehend. Massive grief all around.
I cannot escape the conclusion that UK roads are lethal to cyclists. This is a societal problem that must be stamped out by biasing the law much more in favour of cyclists and getting more car drivers on bikes. No amount of investment in infrastructure will compensate for the seemingly frivolous attitude car drivers adopt towards cyclists. Any infringement when dealing with a cyclist (especially if recorded on a cam)? 6 months driving license suspension as minimum. Such measure, well advertised, would make drivers stand up and listen.
Why do UK bike organizations not band together for a comprehensive legal package and carry the message to Westminster by daily bike-ins until law makers cave in?
The killings must stop.
noether wrote: This is a
You only have to read the Daily Mail comments whenever there is a cycling article to understand how bad the problem is. Look at twitter for a while and you will find someone seeking adulation for almost killing another human being. Really have to ask WTF is going on sometimes.
noether wrote:Hard to
UK Roads are relatively safe. The Netherlands are a bit safer with 4.5 deaths per 100,000 but UK roads at 5.4 are right up there amongst the best. Around about 100 cyclists per year are killed on UK roads. There are far more cyclists in the Netherlands and a lower accident rate but the last figures I saw for 2010 162 cyclists were killed. So for a start off get it out of your head that cycling is dangerous. It isn’t. Or that it is particularly dangerous in the UK. It isn’t. And don’t keep alive that zombie myth that UK roads are uniquely dangerous. They aren’t they are among the safest in the world.
The reason I say this is because there is a danger if you are too hyperbolic about the carnage and the “killing” out there on the roads as if cyclists were being massacred is that first off it isn’t true. Secondly it convinces many people that they shouldn’t cycle because it’s dangerous whereas more cyclists would make it a bit safer still and thirdly the simplest easiest, cheapest way to stop the alleged carnage on the roads isn’t a long term campaign to improve driver and cyclist behaviour and respect. That could take years or decades to have an effect as it has in the Netherlands. No the quick fix if it’s so “dangerous” is to prevent cyclist using roads. The more dangerous ones at first but then more and more.
It may appear to be useful to hype up the danger to get people’s attention as concerned cycling and road safety but it could be a double edged sword.
Why don’t we just stick to the facts.
Cycling is safe. It could be a bit safer but more importantly it could easily be made far more pleasant and made not not seem so dangerous or risky.
Fortunately I look at the UK
Fortunately I look at the UK bike scene from a distance.
Firstly, the aggression displayed by a significant minority of UK drivers towards cyclists is uncommon in the NL; secondly, most UK drivers seem unaware of the frailty of a cyclist on his bike and thirdly the UK bike infrastructure is ruefully inadequate. Only a long term effort aimed at getting more drivers on bikes and making drivers pay a higher cost for knocking cyclists over will improve cyclists’ safety. Truck drivers seem notoriously nonchalant. Had these efforts started 10 years ago, with consistency and funds, UK roads would be much safer for cyclists today.
I cannot compare UK and NL statistics, given the totally different circumstances in both countries (the percentages of children and elderly on bikes, the accidents per bike trip, urban vs recreational etc…) I just know that in the NL drivers are in general ultra-cautious with bikers, even whilst the latter often misbehave on the roads.
I maintain that especially now that cycling is on the verge of becoming mainstream in the UK, cyclists deserve much better protection, beginning with awareness and stricter laws. These will not come if cyclists sit on their hands.
We are on a small island with
We are on a small island with too many people trying to get where they are going too quickly. These incidents are awful but virtually inevitable. Drivers will not slow down and yes, it can be very frightening out there on a bike. Do all you can do, be in charge of what you can control and just hope for the best. That’s all we can do.
Very sorry to hear about the
Very sorry to hear about the tragic Death of Sally Preece.
I would like to point out that she was raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society on her ride because she wanted to help dementia sufferers.
So if you have some spare cash it might be a fitting way to give your condolences to her family by donating to Sally’s Just giving page.
http://www.justgiving.com/Sally-Preece-RAB/