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news
Broken bike (CC licensed image by garryknight, www.flickr.com)Overloaded bike and poor brakes contributed to cyclist’s death
A fatal accident inquiry at Dumfries Sheriff Court has heard that a woman who died after falling from her bike in March last year was carrying 80 telephone directories on a bike which did not have roadworthy brakes.
The Daily Record reports that 50-year-old Sheila Hyslop had been out delivering phone books when she lost control of her bike on Albert Road after hitting a speed bump. Hyslop suffered a traumatic brain injury and died in hospital four days later.
The inquiry looked into whether a pothole in the road may have played a part in causing the crash, but Sheriff Robert Weir QC concluded that it did not. Speaking at the time, a police spokesman had said: “We carried out a mini crash scene investigation and witnesses have told us she didn’t go through a pothole or hit a car. She was delivering telephone directories and her bike was wobbling before she fell and hit her head.”
The inquiry heard that the brakes on Hyslop’s bike had not been roadworthy and that she had not been wearing a helmet.
In his written judgment, Weir said:
“Cause of death was traumatic brain injury when she lost control and fell from her overloaded bicycle.
“It is my conclusion that the accident was probably caused by Ms Hyslop reaching the bottom of the hill at speed which proved to be too great for her to be able to maintain control of the bike with its load.
“I conclude that the bicycle was overloaded to the point where Ms Hyslop’s ability to ride it safely over the speed bump was undermined and if the load had been reduced, there’s a possibility the accident could have been avoided.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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17 comments
Having broken a clavicle after hitting a speed bump, at a speed of less than 10 mph, I can easily see how these things can be lethal.
If she had been a pedestrian carrying a rucksack load of telephone directories, had tripped, fallen and hit her head. Would anyone be saying that she should have worn a pedestrian helmet?
Pedestrian suffer more head injuries per Km travelled than cyclists, and the highest rate head injury per Km travelled is among the occupants of motor vehicles. So why are there no demands for motoring helmets?
Lets stop blaming the victims and deal with the real issues.
..possibly because they're working on more complete protection systems that include head protection such as head/torso/side airbags and curtains. There is evidence to suggest that even existing airbags lead to a lower rate of head injuries, in particular fractures, although there's also some data indicating a higher rate of injuries to the arm (a fair compromise in my book).
Was she wearing helmet?
Has you read story?
Attempting to carry 80 phone books on her bike meant her number was up. She should have phoned a friend.
As to whether I'm mental, Davenportmb, that is between me, my psychiatrist and my pet unicorn. However, add in the rider and the front carrier capacity and you probably won't be far off 250kg.
Also, my question was on how they tested the brakes NOT how they checked them.
Ha, that's pretty funny.
80 wobbly paperbacks wouldn't be good, let alone telephone directories. And as Angelfish says, there's plenty of ways you can tell the brakes are definitely not properly functional, and sometimes even when they look fine they aren't. I don't see any reason to assume they were 100% if the court has stated there was a problem with them - visible to a 'layman' as it were.
1% is still downhill - its an issue of not just speed but also momentum if your brakes are in a poor state of repair and you are carrying a heavy load.
Sometimes, things like this happen, and that's the way it is.
Someone asked how you test the brakes. Well you can visually inspect and see if the blocks are to the metal for one. You can also look at yhe cable and see if it actually moves through the outer sheathing.
https://www.bikesoup.com/magazine/out-of-africa-how-team-mtn-qhubeka-is-...
how was she carrying them? 4 proper panniers on racks, or in some carrier bags swaying from the handlebars?
Phone books don't seem to be that heavy these days. The one that came though our door this week seems to weigh about 1/2 kg tops, so not drastically heavy.
Does sound like poor brakes were the main cause though. sad cos she had the right idea.
'a mini crash scene investigation'
Just a mini one.
Not a proper one.
Just a cyclist.
The article refers to her travelling downhill, but looking at the road on ridewithgps the gradient is 0.9%. That's not really downhill by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm not really convinced.
I'm more concerned about trying to carry 80 phone books on a bike, but I think that depends on the size and weight of the phone books.
Question. What was the maximum permitted gross vehicle mass for her cycle, and how did they determine that?
Question. If she had used a trailer what would have been her maximum permitted train weight?
Note. I believe the payload of a Buffalo Bike is 250kg on the rear carrier alone.
Question. If cargo bikes were actively promoted by government for local deliveries and trades, would we see a drop in the price?
Question. How did they test the brakes? As far as I know the only test that can be undertaken is - are the brakes capable of locking the wheel.
Question. If the 'speed-bump' hadn't been there would Sheila Hyslop still be alive?
Discuss.
It's interesting that you don't ask whether a helmet might have saved her life.
Also, 250kg on a bike? Are you mental?
It's not interesting that he didn't ask if a helmet might have saved her life because it's a hugely divisive issue that will just begin a circular argument that usually descends into namecalling and childishness, so it's actually fairly sensible and reasonable that he left that one alone.
As for 250kg on a bike, a Surly Big Dummy can carry 200lb of cargo, and the bike he's talking about is built to carry 220lb on the rack. http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/01/bikes-and-tech/world-bicycle-reli... So no, not mental, just aware that there's more to riding a bike than lycra, helmets and carbon fibre frames.
Edit to fix typos
100kg according to Qhubeka.
http://qhubeka.org/2013/?page_id=88
Irrespective of how much a bike can or cannot carry, another factor is how it is secured - 100kg on your rear rack but stowed in such a way it can shift about a bit is a very different proposition to a 100kg load that has been well tied down to ensure it can't.
Another issue that often arises with respect to mainstrean poress reports of court cases, inquests or FAIs, is that questions that would occur naturally to us, as cyclists, may not have been addressed in court - and even if they were, may not have made it into a report for a non-cycling audience.