Drunk drivers slammed after two cyclists killed

[Sneeky]

Reading on the local spandex hub most people are very pragmatic about this.
A few things are quite clear though.

1. DUI is a huge problem in this country and having a holiday blitz is not going to stop it, harsher penalities required to the point that it really is not worth taking the chance. In my miss-spent youth I have been found guilty of this myself in a court of law.

2. Although hundreds of cyclist use that road, it is essentially illegal, and you should not be there. Just because you do it every weekend does not make it ok. Law enforcement again, do your job, kick them off.

3. Road cyclists really need to get organised. With the money spent on bikes and kit these days, you, as members of clubs and associations that pay subs, need to put pressure on your associations to leverage the municipalities around all these issues. What exactly are they doing for you? If its anything like the dirtbiking community probably sweet buggerall except taking fees for official events and lining pockets. This is not a poor mans sport and they know it.

Tragic loss of life. RIP.

I used to live in 4Ways and leave early on Sat mornings heading up north to ride my dirtbike. The cyclists on that road were really hard to negotiate some days and just plain rude. I see a bicycle on the road I keep my distance, I don't want to be 'that guy' that knocks some fool over.

The driver of this car has not only destroyed his life, but those of the families of the deceased as well.
If any good can come from this its a wake up call for everybody and some clear regulation that will be ruthlessly enforced.

 

[flippakitten]

The driver of this car has not only destroyed his life, but those of the families of the deceased as well.
If any good can come from this its a wake up call for everybody and some clear regulation that will be ruthlessly enforced.

It's there already, it's just never enforced.

When a large group cycle down the N2 in Wilderness, they generally have one or two cars following them with the hazards on.

 

[FNfal]

Enforcement is Durban is virtually non existent .
There has been an ongoing feud between officers and management that has virtually paralyzed the metro police .
Half the metro police are in Spur every morning in town , you can park in town the whole day with out getting a parking ticket .
The rate payers are losing money because no one puts money in the parking meters , they know they will not get a ticket .

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

Enforcement is Durban is virtually non existent .
There has been an ongoing feud between officers and management that has virtually paralyzed the metro police .
Half the metro police are in Spur every morning in town , you can park in town the whole day with out getting a parking ticket .
The rate payers are losing money because no one puts money in the parking meters , they know they will not get a ticket .

/agrees

Politics and bad leadership has left Durban paralysed from a Metro Police perspective.

Quite frankly I am surprised we dont see more incidents .... JvB (on ECR) makes a living out of bad driving and poor enforcement

 

[Sneeky]

/agrees

Politics and bad leadership has left Durban paralysed from a Metro Police perspective.

Quite frankly I am surprised we dont see more incidents .... JvB (on ECR) makes a living out of bad driving and poor enforcement

Well this driver is going down, no questions about that, but as a counter, and I am not of a legal mind, would he not be able to seek some recourse against the municipality and traffic cops for not keeping a huge unauthorized group of people off a road they should not be on? They pretty much admit to doing it every weekend in large groups, illegally? How is this possible. Surely a cop car has seen them over time.

There was a post by one person on the spandex hub that says while riding back in tears following the incident he witnessed a police car turning a cyclist around while he was trying to get on the m4. A bit late you think?

Not trying to defend this person or their actions, but what if you or me were driving innocently and legally and something like this happened.

Another thing, with the casino down the road, I will be prepared to guarantee you if they roadblock that road everyday they will pay their salaries for the month in no time at all with the traffic leaving there heading north.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Well this driver is going down, no questions about that, but as a counter, and I am not of a legal mind, would he not be able to seek some recourse against the municipality and traffic cops for not keeping a huge unauthorized group of people off a road they should not be on? They pretty much admit to doing it every weekend in large groups, illegally? How is this possible. Surely a cop car has seen them over time.

There was a post by one person on the spandex hub that says while riding back in tears following the incident he witnessed a police car turning a cyclist around while he was trying to get on the m4. A bit late you think?

Not trying to defend this person or their actions, but what if you or me were driving innocently and legally and something like this happened.

Another thing, with the casino down the road, I will be prepared to guarantee you if they roadblock that road everyday they will pay their salaries for the month in no time at all with the traffic leaving there heading north.

How frequent is this type of incident when someone is driving like they should be, hardly comparable to drunk and/or dicing idiots, come on

 

[Sneeky]

How frequent is this type of incident when someone is driving like they should be, hardly comparable to drunk and/or dicing idiots, come on

It really doesnt matter now does it, either way.
The bottom line is if the laws are enforced the frequency would be less, no matter who is in the wrong, driver, cyclist, pedestrian, it makes no difference. Its about keeping people safe.

When I was growing up I remember being chased by the budgy vans with my mate for riding our bikes on the N2, a small stretch from Framseby to Cotswold, took a few fence climbs and stuff to get away

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

It really doesnt matter now does it, either way.
The bottom line is if the laws are enforced the frequency would be less, no matter who is in the wrong, driver, cyclist, pedestrian, it makes no difference. Its about keeping people safe.

When I was growing up I remember being chased by the budgy vans with my mate for riding our bikes on the N2, a small stretch from Framseby to Cotswold, took a few fence climbs and stuff to get away

that's the crux, getting that useless lot to give enough of a damn to actually do their jobs like they used to

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

Well this driver is going down, no questions about that, but as a counter, and I am not of a legal mind, would he not be able to seek some recourse against the municipality and traffic cops for not keeping a huge unauthorized group of people off a road they should not be on? They pretty much admit to doing it every weekend in large groups, illegally? How is this possible. Surely a cop car has seen them over time.

There was a post by one person on the spandex hub that says while riding back in tears following the incident he witnessed a police car turning a cyclist around while he was trying to get on the m4. A bit late you think?

Not trying to defend this person or their actions, but what if you or me were driving innocently and legally and something like this happened.

Another thing, with the casino down the road, I will be prepared to guarantee you if they roadblock that road everyday they will pay their salaries for the month in no time at all with the traffic leaving there heading north.

In this case, a whole bunch of things went wrong.

Firstly, the cyclists shouldnt have been on that road. It doesnt really have a shoulder and it is an arterial route into Durban.
Secondly - the drunk guy shouldnt have been on the road.

And yes ... I am in TOTAL agreement with you. Had enforcement been done properly over the years ....

 

[Sneeky]

that's the crux, getting that useless lot to give enough of a damn to actually do their jobs like they used to

Had enforcement been done properly over the years ....

and therein lies the rub, amen!

 

[FoXtroT]

In this case, a whole bunch of things went wrong.

Firstly, the cyclists shouldnt have been on that road. It doesnt really have a shoulder and it is an arterial route into Durban.
Secondly - the drunk guy shouldnt have been on the road.

And yes ... I am in TOTAL agreement with you. Had enforcement been done properly over the years ....

There is actually a huge shoulder where they were hit, as big as a normal lane. I drove past the day it happened and could see where the cops had spray painted along the road indicating where they were hit. They were pretty much right in the middle of the emergancy lane.

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

There is actually a huge shoulder where they were hit, as big as a normal lane. I drove past the day it happened and could see where the cops had spray painted along the road indicating where they were hit. They were pretty much right in the middle of the emergancy lane.

Thanks for the correction .... I seem to remember from biker days it wasnt so wide.
Certainly the PnP section has a very narrow shoulder. Probably in areas it is quite wide.

 

[schumi]

Accused’s parents say sorry

Durban - Moments before their son made his first court appearance for the deaths of two cyclists over the weekend, the tearful parents of Omesh Ramnarain said they were very sorry for the families of the victims.

Cyclists Jared Dwyer, 36 of Glenwood, and Richard da Silva, 46, of Glen Anil, were killed after Ramnarain, who was allegedly drunk and travelling at high speed in his black VW Golf GTi, slammed into them on the M4 just past the Swapo Road (Broadway) turn-off just after 5am on Sunday, apparently when returning home from the nightclub Rocabar.

The pair were at the back of a large group during an 80km ride from Blue Lagoon towards Umhlanga when they were struck and launched more than 20m in front of the leading members.

“We, as the family of the accused, have been praying for them (the victims’ families) since this happened. It is devastating,” his parents told The Mercury outside the courtroom on Sunday.

“We are so, so sorry. We hope God gives them comfort and strength,” they said.

Ramnarain, 32, an Umhlanga plumber who lives with his parents in Phoenix, was also visibly anguished during his brief appearance before Durban magistrate Vanitha Armu.

Gulping and wiping tears from his eyes, his shoulders heaved at times as prosecutor Thulani Mavundla listed the charges he faced: two counts of culpable homicide, one of drunk driving and one of reckless and negligent driving.

More at:http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/accuseds-parents-say-sorry-1982017

 

[ToxicBunny]

Welcome to the world of consequences Omesh...

You can cry as much as you want but you are guilty of all charges in my opinion. You MAY get lucky due to the fact that the cyclists were not meant to be on that stretch of road, but you should serve as a lesson to other idiots who drive drunk....

 

[ponder]

So all cyclists should use a cycle track/circuit that is only a couple kms long and completely flat? (This is not to say cyclists don't use it, it has been very well used as a speed circuit but therein lies the problem) You can't use the promenade if you are doing proper cycle training so that's out.

OK people say, stick to the B roads. Well most of those don't have a decent shoulder plus you have to keep stopping at lights or stop streets which hinders a decent cycling workout.

By in large, the M4 is the only decent road to use if you need to do any sort of distance training, its long, in most places has a decent emergency lane to utilise, and has varied elevations.

It's illegal!

Saw the paper this morning and top story was the drunk driver killing the cyclists, story right below it was about all those cyclist contravening the law by using the M4.

The freeway is not your play/practice ground, the law is quite clear about cyclists, pedestrians, people on trikes & bikes <50cc.

 

[supersunbird]

Maybe they should implement a bike license tax, then use the money to make safe biking areas/roads...

 

[ponder]

Maybe they should implement a bike license tax, then use the money to make safe biking areas/roads...

The tax would be astronomical in order to fund that and please don't expect non-cyclist to contribute to it.

 

[supersunbird]

The tax would be astronomical in order to fund that and please don't expect non-cyclist to contribute to it.

Good, and of course not.

 

[nightjar]

Maybe they should implement a bike license tax, then use the money to make safe biking areas/roads...

Not going to make a difference because nobody cares about any laws.
The root cause of this thread is that 40 cyclists said to each other, “Screw the law. We will do what we like.”
They did what they liked but karma screwed it up with a drunken idiot in a Golf but it could easily have been a taxi or a blue light maniac.
The logical conclusion has to be that the remaining 38 are directly responsible for the deaths of their fellow law breakers.

 

[FoXtroT]

Not going to make a difference because nobody cares about any laws.
The root cause of this thread is that 40 cyclists said to each other, “Screw the law. We will do what we like.”
They did what they liked but karma screwed it up with a drunken idiot in a Golf but it could easily have been a taxi or a blue light maniac.
The logical conclusion has to be that the remaining 38 are directly responsible for the deaths of their fellow law breakers.

How the hell do you come up with that assertion. The cyclists didn't force the two that died to cycle with them on that road, the others can't somehow be complicit in their death.

As to the legality of cycling on the freeway; to be honest I had never heard of that before this incident. I thought the I only road you couldn't ride on were National roads and I believe most of the cycling community probably thought the same. Its not exactly a well publicised law; they are no signs anywhere on Durban's freeways prohibiting cycling that I have ever seen.