Cyclists at it again

[TVR-190]

Cyclist shoves 71-year-old woman - police | News.com.au

A 71-YEAR-OLD woman is in a critical condition after being pushed over by a cyclist and striking her head on the ground.

The woman was shoved in the chest as she walking along Gardeners Road, Eastlakes, in Sydney's south yesterday afternoon, police say.

An argument started between the male cyclist and the woman about 3.40pm (AEST), but soon turned violent when the man lashed out, police say.

The force caused her to fall backwards on to the pavement.

The man then rode off on his dark-coloured mountain bike, while passers-by stopped to help the woman.

She is in a critical condition at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, police say.

Investigators are appealing for the public's help to find the offender, who is described as being aged in his 20s, with dark hair.

At the time of the incident he was wearing black pants, a dark-coloured top and white sneakers.

for the record, im happy for these freeloading danger junkies to go and have their little exercise, but if your gonna ride on the road, stick to the law. If they want to ride on the road they should have some form of identification, like us car and motorcycle riders.

There was news recently about how many cyclists will be recording and dobbing in "dangerous" drivers, yet whenever they are in the wrong we have no way of identifying them.

-The TroyMan

[Tim Smtih]

From the sounds of it The old woman might have been having a go at the guy about riding on the footpath, i can't see any other reason as to why she would have been having a go at him. But i agree with you they are road users and should do their fair share of taking responsibility for their actions.

[jules]

At the time of the incident he was wearing black pants, a dark-coloured top and white sneakers.

i'm sick of these white shoed thugs - when are we going to outlaw white shoes? don't get me started on dark coloured tops. she was 70 years old FFS

next time i see someone wearing a dark top, i just dunno what i'm gonna do

[wana s' charge stock vt]

id be happy if they just stay'd in the bike lane

[Davidcoolaye]

What gets me is when 2 ride next to each other taking up a whole lane on a 2 lane road, then after they have half the city behind them they decide to slowly pull off as people beep at them. They need 1 to have number plates and 2 pay rego yearly. I don't mind them riding in their given space but now they are getting cocky cause they can not be caught.

[TVR-190]

Elderly woman dies after attack | News.com.au

Hope they catch the ****.

[thewheeldeal com au]

I love how the topic is "cyclists at it again" but the guy's wearing sneakers which to me says that he is not a road cyclist but merely a bloke riding a bmx or mountain bike from K-mart. Gotta love the stereotypes.

[low vs]

that mother ****er!!!i hope he goes to jail for a very long time!!!

[Holden_Man]

This has nothing to do with cyclists. This is all about the lack of respect and discipline the youth of Australia have today.

[minux]

I love how the topic is "cyclists at it again" but the guy's wearing sneakers which to me says that he is not a road cyclist but merely a bloke riding a bmx or mountain bike from K-mart. Gotta love the stereotypes.

if he is riding a bmx or a mountain bike, isnt the person still a cyclist? Unless things have changed and cyclists no longer ride bicycles?

I do love this though

"Investigators are appealing for the public's help to find the offender, who is described as being aged in his 20s, with dark hair."

The fact hey haven't said white/anglo male pretty much says hey are looking for a dark skinned fellow with black hair. PC brigade at it again.

[GOTMYN]

WOW, That's really sad, hopefully he bragged to one or two of his mates about it, and time will have him identified......

[Stressball]

if he is riding a bmx or a mountain bike, isnt the person still a cyclist? Unless things have changed and cyclists no longer ride bicycles?

Yes that's true, but the stereotype for annoying cyclists is that it is usually a person on a road cycle in a hurry, disregarding the rules and the safety of themselves and others. If this were some random guy on a mountain bike, although he's still a cyclist, it doesn't really fit under the same stereotype for the same reasons. I suppose it's a bit like if you expand a subject group to fit a stereotype. For example, it could be like having two stabbing deaths in one suburb: the first a drunken rage, the second a robbery gone wrong. Both are stabbings, both have different motivations. You wouldn't label them both as robbers, or both as drunks.

Still, maybe this will expand the stereotype to include cyclists killing pedestrians

[minux]

Yes that's true, but the stereotype for annoying cyclists is that it is usually a person on a road cycle in a hurry, disregarding the rules and the safety of themselves and others. If this were some random guy on a mountain bike, although he's still a cyclist, it doesn't really fit under the same stereotype for the same reasons. I suppose it's a bit like if you expand a subject group to fit a stereotype. For example, it could be like having two stabbing deaths in one suburb: the first a drunken rage, the second a robbery gone wrong. Both are stabbings, both have different motivations. You wouldn't label them both as robbers, or both as drunks.

Stress, I get your point, however it is mute.

Look at car drivers. If your young and own a loud car your a hoon. Now cyclists can be tarred witht he same brush. if you ride a bike, your a wanker (Shouldnt say that, I enjoy riding my bike)

Seriously though, this is why ALL bikes should be registered. Even childrens bikes. It could be a nominal fee of $20 per household per year. At least this would provide a way to track a cyclist. It may actually instill some sense into these dimwit riders who think they own the road. I did one group ride and will never do it again. The mentality of these idiots is scary. I will stick to being on my own, much safer.

[Stressball]

Stress, I get your point, however it is mute.

Moot* O:-)

Seriously though, this is why ALL bikes should be registered. Even childrens bikes. It could be a nominal fee of $20 per household per year. At least this would provide a way to track a cyclist. It may actually instill some sense into these dimwit riders who think they own the road. I did one group ride and will never do it again. The mentality of these idiots is scary. I will stick to being on my own, much safer.

Definitely agree with that, it's not much money and it would certainly help for things like that I think. But, it wouldd also mean they need a system for tracking it, or introducing a bicycle type to current systems. I expect that would take $200M and 7 years

[minux]

Moot* O:-)

Nah mute for this instance, silent etc etc.

Definitely agree with that, it's not much money and it would certainly help for things like that I think. But, it wouldd also mean they need a system for tracking it, or introducing a bicycle type to current systems. I expect that would take $200M and 7 years

200m? Vic will have it at 700mill before it is even rolled out, that is how good this labor government is at revenue raising.

Anyway, it is sad that this woman has died, very very sad. The fact he has stopped and pushed her should be enough to push for a murder charge.

[jules]

I did one group ride and will never do it again. The mentality of these idiots is scary. I will stick to being on my own, much safer.

i've done group rides where the group has been very well behaved. not everyone is of course.

the media love stirring up controversy - a cyclist assaulting an old lady is a great story, because it plays to people's prejudices against cyclists. obviously the guy who did this could have been in a car, or on foot. the fact he was on a bike is incidental.

[VZ_SS]

Registering push bikes? Wake up to yourself lol

[stocky]

Registering push bikes? Wake up to yourself lol

Why? No doubt its going to be considered after this incident. To kill someone and ride off in any type of vehicle is unacceptable if the vehicle doesn't have some kind of identifying feature. As minux said, I'm sure noone will care about $20 rego if it stops this shit from happening

[Sabbath']

the media love stirring up controversy - a cyclist assaulting an old lady is a great story, because it plays to people's prejudices against cyclists.

Great story or not, it's still the facts of the matter.

Cyclists get away with more than their fair share of misdemeanors on the road. Mostly due to the fact that there is no ability to serve a punishment on them once they commit an offense.

There is no regulation over who can use a bike and where. You can go down to a bike shop, buy a bike and helmet and then go and ride in peak hour traffic. You dont need to show any competence whatsoever, yet you're let out onto the road as a slow moving hindrance to traffic.

Cyclists didnt just get a negative stereotype for no reason.

[danja]

From the sounds of it The old woman might have been having a go at the guy about riding on the footpath, i can't see any other reason as to why she would have been having a go at him. But i agree with you they are road users and should do their fair share of taking responsibility for their actions.

When you're 71, you don't need a good reason to have go at people

[jules]

Cyclists didnt just get a negative stereotype for no reason.

i read this forum and people saying how it's not fair how all commodore drivers on P plates or with lowered springs get stereotyped as hoons, and then i see people do the exact same thing to others, e.g. cyclists.

You dont need to show any competence whatsoever, yet you're let out onto the road as a slow moving hindrance to traffic.

try actually riding a bike in traffic. you won't last long if you have no idea and just ignore drivers and hold them up for no reason. i know there are plenty of idiot riders out there, but at the end of the day, it's their life on the line, not yours.

people who hate cyclists aren't concerned that they might get hurt, they hate cyclists because they think their car should get priority and drive around like they're dishing out justice to everyone who they think is doing wrong according to their view of the world. these people aren't just a problem for cyclists, they're general a**holes to everyone.

i ride to work in the CBD every day. i stop for red lights and am super careful. 99% of drivers don't seem to have any problem, but there's always that 1% who can't seem to cope.

[danja]

I take care around cyclists, and try to respect their right to be on the road, but with the number I see who seem to think red lights are just a suggestion, well I really find it hard to respect the argument that they have equal entitlement to be on the road when a large proportion don't seem to think they have to show equal respect to the road rules as drivers.

I ride a motorbike to work these days, and I'm often sitting at the front of a line of traffic at the lights, and see some guy on a push bike blaze through the lights, and think "What's the difference between him and me? Why is it Ok for a pushie to run red lights, but not a motorbike, if anything it's safer for me because I can get through faster!" Yet I don't.

I realise there are some who do the right thing, but it's amazing the number who don't. It's fine to say they are only putting their safety on the line, but think about how someone would feel if they ploughed down a cyclist who ran a red and killed them? Even if it was no fault of theirs, I'm sure plenty of people would wear that guilt for the rest of their lives.

[jules]

I realise there are some who do the right thing, but it's amazing the number who don't.

they are a***holes too

seriously, screw them. i used to ride a motorbike to work and i'm pretty careful on that. one day this tradie in a commodore ute, talking on his mobile chopped me up while i was minding my own business. i went round to his window to have a chat and this bloke just went ballistic about how bikers always break the law so why should he look out for them? some people are just thick as a plank.

[Maxxiz]

That bloke needs a good smack in the head, seriously, its really not on. Assaulting anyone is bad enough, but an old lady? Come on.
Cyclists are a pain in the ass. Off road bikers dont piss me off, they stay outa my way, road cyclists on the otherhand I cant even stand. Hate them, they think they own the road. Worst thing is when they ride 3-4+ acrossways across the road seriously! Or when they ride outside the bike lane! Like come on..
/End rant.

[Tim Smtih]

When you're 71, you don't need a good reason to have go at people

True. But in defence of the old and crotchety i have met more nice elderly people than not. Still i expect that after so many years of putting up with snot nosed little punks i would want to have a go at them too.