Hit & Run Safety Bay Road 12th Feb

[Huff&Puff]

I was out on the bike early last Tuesday 12th Feb 6-15am, riding up Safety Bay Road dual lanes, where it crosses over Ennis Ave, I was riding close to kerb in the shoulder, just as the shoulder disappears on the approach to roundabout a large white box truck 8-9 tonne like a removilists truck, started to pass me my imediate thought !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! he's close, he just kept come into me, I was hit towards the back of the truck, probably just behind his back wheel. Ended up sprawled out on the left lane, traffic stopped, a chap got out of his car to help me, unfortunately I did not get his details as I was in quiet a bit of shock, I remember asking him did you see what that truck did his replie was yes he ran into to you. I was helped off the road & sat propped up against the fence at the side of the road. A friend who is also a cyclist came & picked me up & took me to hospital, I am ok but badly bruised & have a broken clavical. After descibing the incedent to my friend he said he had a truck of the same description run him off the road on Safety Bay road, he was able to take avassive action by darting into a drive way. I normally take the centre of the lane on roundabouts but in this case I have to keep left as I have to cross an on ramp to reach the continuing shoulder after the on ramp. So to all cyclists, there are some motorists on the road that are so agro & vindictive against cyclists that they will go out of their way to do harm.

[redned]

Huff: glad to hear you are not seriously hurt. Might be hard to chase down the truck. Even if you could identify it he would probably swear he was never there. Cyclist? What cyclist?

[Huff&Puff]

I agree redned, but I can live in hope. Unfortunately cops aren't interested unless your dead, then they may look into it. Looks like I'll have to invest in a helmont cam. I have been thinking about for some time now.

[kodakmomentz]

I agree redned, but I can live in hope. Unfortunately cops aren't interested unless your dead, then they may look into it. Looks like I'll have to invest in a helmont cam. I have been thinking about for some time now.

Thanks for the heads up. I hope to start cycling through that area once the doctor gives the all clear after a broken ankle.

[MarkG]

Huff& Puff I hope you're getting on ok.

I've often thought about going for a ride south of Rockingham and doing that same route.
I assume you're going east along Safety Bay Road, over Ennis Ave, past the train station on the right, then up the PSP?

[Huff&Puff]

Hi Markg, yep I was heading east would have gone past the Warnbro train station & continued down Safety Bay road through the roundabout at old Mandurah road to meet up with the PSP. I am healing have some unbeliveable bruising & may have to have a plate & screws put in my shoulder to stabalize it I will know next week. I don't think I would ride that over pass section on my own again. It looks like if I ride that section I will have to take to the path & cross over at the lights at the station entry.

[MarkG]

I live in Cockburn and ride south as far as Read St to work each day and I've often thought about going down that way for something different. Might think twice now . Heal up.

[trailgumby]

The cops in your state need a rocket up them, preferably with a cluster payload.

Do they treat motor vehicle crashes with the same disdain?

[Howzat]

This is a motor vehicle accident!

Needs to be reported, obviously, I presume that's been done. All the best for the recovery Huff&Puff!

[ColinOldnCranky]

The cops in your state need a rocket up them, preferably with a cluster payload.

Do they treat motor vehicle crashes with the same disdain?

I read a horrific set of circumstances that even at it's least is careless and life threatening. However, as with many/most such posts here I am wary of accepting it at face value. Just because Huff&Puff says it, does not make it so as I see lots of stories here that are less than convincing.

And with police reports many interpret a cop not putting it at the top of their list of immediate todos or not to investigate regardless of minimal leads or minimal chance of prosecution as being cops not caring.

Sorry Huff&Puff, I'm not trying to offend you or call you out as your description may, indeed, be totally valid. Perhaps you have described things as they were but I have no idea who you are. And, as you will find once you have been in this forum, not everything is described fairly.

I did not note any reference to reporting the matter. I trust that you did report it as it does, as you described, pretty much makes it a no brainer to do so. And you suffered a injury. If the fuzz do nothing this time but enter it into a computer then, if the driver generates further reports then it will hopefully be looked at more seriously then.

btw Huff, welcome aboard. Rockingham and Safety Bay was my stamping ground when I was a kid, Dixon Road was as far back as the town went and when there was an easily walkable sand bar to Penguin Island. (The more cvilised "grown ups" took a ride in an army duck.)

[MarkG]

Sweet memories of walking that sand bar to pengos to surf the bomby!

[Huff&Puff]

Hi Colin, I take your comments on board & agree with you, I went to the Rockingham police station, they did not want to know about it & told me I had to submit it on line which I did, my daughter is also friends with the head cop of traffic in Mandurah, his advice was the same. I realise this is a hard one as the truck did not stop & the witnesses jumped in their cars & left without giving me their details even though one of the witnesses said that truck hit me deliberately. But Mike did say they have ways & means of finding the truck. Prehaps I should have called the ambulance, but I am a volunteer with St Johns & I didn't think I was that badly hurt, so thought I would call a cyclist friend that lived not far away from the incident to take me to hospital. In hindsite I should have called the ambulance.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Sounds like you have doen everything you reasonably can. And it doesn't seem to have put you off riding.

Good luck with the clavicle. Forget the hang glider, the abseiling and the mountain climbing for a while. too But keep riding.

[Rex]

I rode westerly along Safety Bay Rd from the freeway into Rockingham yesterday morning and felt quite safe, as safe one can feel considering there is a bike shoulder along most of the road.
However, if an idiot behind the wheel wants to hit you, this can happen along any road.

[Huff&Puff]

Well said Rex Unfortunately there are some drivers that are vindictive against cyclists on the road especially if they wear lycra. I've ridden that route often without a problem, but it just takes one vindictive driver.

[rolandp]

From My Community:
SAFETY Bay grandmother Kaye Tonzing is lucky to be alive.
The 66-year-old has called on motorists to drop their “ludicrous attitude” towards cyclists after a nine-tonne truck hit her, knocking her off her bicycle into the path of traffic about 5.45am on February 12 as she completed her weekly 40km recreational cycle.

Same day, same location, same description of truck, roughly the same time.

Huff&Puff, is this you? Hope the injury's fix quick.

[Aushiker]

From My Community:
SAFETY Bay grandmother Kaye Tonzing is lucky to be alive.
The 66-year-old has called on motorists to drop their “ludicrous attitude” towards cyclists after a nine-tonne truck hit her, knocking her off her bicycle into the path of traffic about 5.45am on February 12 as she completed her weekly 40km recreational cycle.

Same day, same location, same description of truck, roughly the same time.

Huff&Puff, is this you? Hope the injury's fix quick.

Are you beat me to it Roland. I was having the same thoughts. Hope all is good and the Police are being responsive.

Andrew

[ColinOldnCranky]

Well, if reporting to the police to load into the computer does indeed lead to correlating similar events then this one should jump right out at them.

It just says "unmarked truck" so I am assuming not but do we know if the truck stopped?

Huff - were you riding East or West? Perhaps same driver returning?

(Edit: I see that the pic indicated hit-and-run. Clears that up.)

[Huff&Puff]

Yep thats me. And now there is another cyclist in Freo also hit by a truck this is becoming an almost daily occurrence. If your a cyclist it's just a mater of time. Still haven't heard from the cops. I guess you have to be dead to get a response from them.

[ColinOldnCranky]

if they have identified the driver by now then I don't suppose they need you until or unless it is to strengthen a prosecution.

on the other hand if they have not then one would hope they would be seeking some detail further than your existing statement to assist in identification. if not them that would strong reason to be cynical about either their systems or their commitment.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Aushiker]

if they have identified the driver by now then I don't suppose they need you until or unless it is to strengthen a prosecution.

The WA Police policy is to notify the reporter of the outcome of the report. This applies if there will be no further action or if a TIN is issued.

Andrew

[ColinOldnCranky]

Has anyone heard any more about huff and puff's or the nans incident? Always hoping that the authorities find out something useful.

[Huff&Puff]

I still haven't even heard from the cops, I am very disapointed, I phoned them & just got told I would be contacted. I am getting the strong feeling that because your a cyclist you don't matter you don't exist. I hear on the radio this morning another cyclist was hit by a truck on Brookton Hwy.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Still nothing?

[higdawg]

in that section there is a cycle path that is separated from the road. I wouldn't ride through that roundabout at all.