The sister of a woman killed by a tipper truck in London has said that cyclists should be made to pass a test before they can ride on the roads - for their own safety.
Nursing assistant Maria Karsa, 21, was cycling to St Bartholomew’s Hospital on the morning of Sunday September 15 when she was hit by a truck on the Aldgate gyratory. She was taken to Royal London Hospital and kept on life support until the evening of Sunday September 22 when the support was turned off.
Her sister, Athena Karsa, 19, a student at Manchester University, told the Evening Standard that her sister, who had only recently begun cycling to work, was unprepared for the traffic in the capital.
She said: “You have to pass tests and do courses to drive a car or motorbike, but as soon as you take the engine out anyone can do it.
“Cyclists themselves have to know basic road safety. People don’t even have to wear helmets.
“You can’t just say because it is a bike and does not have an engine you don’t need to do something. You should have something to say you know how to protect yourself. It is London. It is so busy all the time.”
No-one has been arrested in connection with the collision, and police have appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
Athena added: “I keep thinking she is at work or out with her friends. You don’t expect something like this to happen to your family.
“No one deserves it, especially not aged 21.
“She was not a shy person and a little bit mad at times — she would do anything if you dared her. She was very funny and very carefree and kind. It has been very hard.”
Last month her boyfriend spoke of his devastation, and called for mandatory cycle awareness courses for drivers of large vehicles.
Her boyfriend, 22-year-old Tony Young told the Evening Standard: “The last week has probably been the worst experience of my life.
“It was really hard when we got the call to go to the hospital and they said what they had to do. It’s like someone just stabbed you in the chest.
“Her mum is distraught. Maria was a big part of her life.”
Tony criticised London’s authorities for promoting cycling without taking steps to protect bike riders from the dangers of motor vehicles.
“I will never ride my bike again,” he said. “They have been parading all these ways of putting people on bikes but at the same time they are not doing enough to keep us safe.
“With all the mandatory things they could have put in place, you just wonder whether it could have been different.”
The location of the collision, the Aldgate area near the start of Cycle Superhighway 2, is one of London’s most dangerous cycling black spots.
Cycling activists have been campaigning for years for changes to make it safer for cyclists. After the death of French student Philippine de Gerin-Ricard in July, Andrew Gilligan, Mayor’s cycling commissioner, announced that it would be rebuilt.
Maria Karsa was the eighth cyclist to die on London's roads so far this year. Six fatalities have involved HGVs and four of those were construction tipper trucks.
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36 comments
Another Tipper Truck incident.
I believe Tipper drivers are paid 'per load' which can only encourage poor driving.
What is needed in London ;
1. Ban large vehicles at commuter times
2. Mandatory training for tipper/HGV drivers
3. Ban 'pay per load' operation
I agree though that some education would be good for inexperienced cyclists. Any easy way would be for TFL to put together a video on YouTube. There are probably plenty already on there.
Fundamentally a cultural change is needed. Vunerable road users to be given more priority and protection on the road. Helmets & Hi-Viz is not the answer.
I understand these are the outpourings of a grieving sister, but this highlights the wider misconception that cyclists use no other form of transport.
I am a high mileage driver, and have held a full motorcycle and car licence for over 30 years, so I am more than well aquatinted with the dangers of traffic and how to try stay safe around it.
Mandatory training for children is a great idea, I did cycling proficiency at school and again with the cub scouts, and I think it is even more important to make children aware of how to stay safe these days. But please don't assume when you see me on a bike, that I need yet another test / licence.
There is plenty of scope for cycle training for adults.
Just stand and watch any major cycle commuter route or indeed a sportive and you will see lots of expert riders but also (and increasingly in the last two years) many many people whose lack of bike handling skills, roadcraft, hazard perception and spatial awareness is immediately obvious.
Making it mandatory? Hmmmm... Maybe as a trade off against strict liability for drivers, but there are a thousand points to argue there.
Grubbythumb, I'm glad you're confident of your skills but you are just one example. I instruct adults essential cycling skills and I can assure you that I have taught experienced car drivers a lot of things they didn't know about how to ride a bike safely.
I don't think anyone is assuming that. But there are whole generations of people out there, particularly in London that don't have a driving license, don't have a motorbike, but fancy riding a bicycle.....they may never have done cycling proficiency, or have done this in some middle of nowhere podunk town in the back of nowhere, where it is deemed a busy day if the farmer drives his tractor down the road.
It is interesting that the sister has come out and said this. I know that I am reading into events (but evidentially she seems to have cycled poorly), but it seems that the cyclists own inexperience may have led to her own sad demise. A test/series of classes are a great idea. Hopefully this may save someone's life.
People on here are usually too quick to jump on bus drivers, truck drivers and the like, but the problem out there is that there are many people who are endangering themselves unnecessarily. Bus drivers/tipper truck drivers do not want to kill anyone no matter how they are paid. Just the other day I was riding a bus when he was approaching a bicycle, when the cyclist, without looking over his shoulder, just decided to stop at a choke point (due to road works). The cyclist was lucky that the driver saw him in time. His unexplained manoeuvre almost cost him his life because he didn't consider the other road users around him....
....incidentally I think pedestrians could do some sort of test so that they don't clog up the pavement when I'm walking.
It's all very sad, but I think the poor girl's sister may have a point. The sheer lack of awareness by so many people I see cycling in London is terrifying. That's not at all to say that I think the cyclists in such incidences are necessarily at fault.
Well, I started riding when I was 3 years old; my driving license (which I've held over 22 years) enables me to drive lesser powered vehicles, I even did my cycling proficiency test when I was at school.
Perhaps cycling proficiency tests should be made mandatory at schools, perhaps that may make councils take cycle road safety issues more seriously as more children will then want to cycle to school.
In a nutshell though, I think it's long been established that once you cycle on the road your life becomes cheaper in the eyes of the law and with that in mind, the rules may not always keep you safe.
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