Car 'doing U-turn' hits group of cyclists in West End,Brisbane

[Thoglette]

Car 'doing U-turn' hits group of cyclists in Brisbane

A driver who may have been blinded by the sun runs into a group of cyclists at West End, in inner-city Brisbane, injuring five people, including one who has critical head injuries.

It is believed the car was doing a U-turn in front of the five cyclists and glare from the sun may have blinded the driver before the incident on Dornoch Terrace about 6:20am.

The cyclists, aged between 45 and 55, have suffered injuries including broken bones and concussion.

The 45-year-old in the group has critical head injuries and was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The four others were transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

[fatherofmany]

Or they may have checked for cars, seen none about and done the U without looking for any other road users. Just maybe

My theory is that most motorists know that they are in a car, and therefore look for cars, forgetting about other road users. how else do you explain "I didn't see the bus/pedestrian/bike/truck/etc when I pulled out from the kerb"? They weren't looking for anything other than the familiar.

Just bad driving skills impacting (no pun intended) the lives of others.


Rant over

FoM

[tcdev]

"I'm blinded by the sun. Oh well, I'll just do a U-turn and hope for the best..."

[gorilla monsoon]

The manual says that a U-turn can only be performed "when it is safe to do so". Which means if the driver was blinded by the sun it was unsafe to perform the action, therefore he/she is automatically at fault.

[ValleyForge]

There was a follow up article on the ABC news but nothing regarding the driver or the injured.
Any updates?

[Thoglette]

Any updates?

Issued with a ticket for failing to give way.
'Pretty much a slap on the wrist': Driver penalty for bike accident criticised

Brisbane cyclists will be "underwhelmed" at a decision not to charge the driver of a car that injured five riders at West End, Bicycle Queensland chief executive officer Ben Wilson says.

Tellingly, the driver's testimony indicates abject negligence as...

Police said the driver hit riders in the middle of a larger group,

[brumby33]

The manual says that a U-turn can only be performed "when it is safe to do so". Which means if the driver was blinded by the sun it was unsafe to perform the action, therefore he/she is automatically at fault.

The Manual says lots of things that are immediately discarded once the Driving assessor hands the driver his new licence to freedom....like parking in No Stopping zones,clearways, bus stops, U-Turns on double broken lines, illegal use of phones whilst driving....just to name a few

cheers

brumby33

[RobertL]

Police said the driver hit riders in the middle of a larger group

I remember that from what one of the first witnesses said. The witness was a rider in that group, but was further back. He pointed out that his group was strung out going down the hill and the riders who were hit were behind another group. So the driver must have seen the first riders go past, and still turned across the second group of riders.

I've seen that sort of thing with some drivers. It's almost as if they see a cyclist or group of cyclists and think, "that's it...all the cyclists have passed" rather than, "hmm...some cyclists...I wonder if there are any more?"

[Thoglette]

Calvin Treacy of the ABC reports on being hit, I think in this incident

[ValleyForge]

Yes. I was going to post this, but you beat me too it.

I do like the idea of "the Sun" as a defense.