Bike cam video shows cyclist being hit by car
GUERNSEY has again appeared on a national cycling website that draws attention to near misses and actual hits on UK roads.
On road.cc, cyclist Alex Margison shared a video of him riding on the one-way system at Baubigny as a car pulled out of a lane to his left.
The bike ran into the driver’s side of the car and was seen to topple over.
He told a journalist for road.cc that until this incident he used to commute along the bike lane which, at the end, has priority over a side road and a specially painted surface indicating it is a bike lane.
Given the wet weather, he said he had little chance to brake in time.
‘Over the years I’ve been knocked off twice before at this junction, and I’ve survived countless near misses, as because of the one-way road system motorists seem incapable of looking right for cyclists and just pull out without stopping despite numerous warning signs,’ he said.
The collision caused over £1,000 of damage to the bike as well as injuries to his elbow, hip and knee.
‘The motorist hung around just long enough to accuse me of not looking where I was going before driving away from the scene without providing his details, leaving me sitting in the road waiting for an ambulance that another motorist had called,’ he said.
‘It turned out that one of the people caught up in the traffic jam was an off-duty police officer, and he called up the station to put out a calling all cars alert in an effort to find the driver. I was told he was later located at home.
‘I’ve long since given up on bothering to report anything to Guernsey Police given my past experiences of the unwillingness of the Criminal Justice Unit to prosecute any offence against cyclists (even with video evidence and when I’ve ended up in A&E), but I felt I was left with no choice in this instance as an on-duty officer arrived shortly before the ambulance and took the SD card from my bike camera there and then.’
He said weeks later he received notification from the Criminal Justice Unit that ‘it would not be in the public interest to prosecute the driver’.
A spokesperson for Traffic & Highway Services said there are plans to upgrade the path in the vicinity of St Sampson’s High School that runs from Rue de Bas junction to the filter opposite Capelles Methodist Church, to meet the latest UK guidance in relation to cycle path signs and road markings.
‘Improvements include the introduction of blue painted areas at junctions to further highlight that motorists need to give way to people on the cycle path.’
Improvements commenced along Baubigny Road/Duveaux Road but were delayed by a long period of wet weather and, more recently, Covid-19 restrictions.
‘This means that there are still a number of changes to be made to road markings and signs in that section, including the need for our contractor to lay another coat of blue paint at the junction of Rue de Bas,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Once those are complete, Traffic & Highway Services will look to roll out the improvements to the other sections of the path in due course.’
Guernsey Police have been contacted for comment.
To see the video and article on road.cc click here.
