Stuart Edwards, owner of Green Jersey Cycles, demonstrates how a car collided with him on Tuesday night. He estimated it was travelling at over 100kmh. PHOTO/ARTHUR HAWKES
Despite shock Edwards ‘still cycling’
ARTHUR HAWKES
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Stuart Edwards is lucky to be alive. He was cycling on Kokotau Rd, back to his home in Carterton at about 6.50pm on Tuesday night, when a speeding car clipped him hard at over 100kmh.
Edwards, a very experienced cyclist and owner of Green Jersey Cycles, was in full safety gear, with multiple bike lights.
He first saw a car in front of him, coming toward him on the opposite side of the straight section of road.
At the same time, he could also hear the roar of an oncoming car behind him.
Unbeknownst to him, the three parties were staggered to all pass one another at a single point on the road.
Rather than slowing down to pace behind the cyclist, the driver behind Edwards made the reckless decision to floor it for the gap.
Edwards described a loud rushing sound as the vehicle approached him at speed from behind, in his blind spot.
He then heard – and felt – a thunderous bang. The first contact was made between the car’s wing mirror and Edwards’ hip.
He then bounced off the side of the speeding car, miraculously managing to stay on his bike.
Luckily, he escaped without any injury, but the outcome could have been fatal were he positioned mere inches to the right.
The driver, having very clearly struck Edwards, then sped off without stopping.
“They took the choice to sacrifice me, rather than a few seconds of their journey,” Edwards said.
“It happened really fast: I suddenly felt something whack me on the side, it was a big racket.
“Their wing mirror smashed me on the hip and made a very loud noise, then they drove off – they didn’t even slow down, not even any braking.
“It’s really questionable that they didn’t even slow down and check that I was okay.”
Edwards then contacted the police, who he said were “great” about the situation, following up with a couple of calls to make sure that he had got home in one piece.
Due to the speed and shock of the event, as well as the low light level, Edwards said he was unable to get a clear picture of the car and driver, but remembered it to be a “sedan, on the orange spectrum of colours”.
“To be honest, I was just pretty focused on staying alive.”
Edwards is a father of four, who cycles regularly. He said he thought the driver showed extreme disregard for, not just his life, but those of his family and friends.
“I find it really stinks that people don’t consider that sort of stuff: the number of people that could be impacted by that.”
Last year, 15 cyclists were killed nationwide in collisions involving motor vehicles. So far this year, six people have already lost their lives in bicycle-vehicle collisions, including well-known cycling advocate Tim Hope.
Hope, 76, from Hamilton, died in hospital on July 3 after being struck from his bike by a truck.
The high number of collisions and deaths on New Zealand’s roads have been the source of decades of campaigning for better cycling infrastructure and road safety awareness.
In Wairarapa, there’s been some forward movement in this area, with a new cycleway connecting the five towns one step closer, after a $1 million funding boost from the government was announced this month. Edwards has been a vocal supporter of this from the outset.
Part of the Five Towns Trail to connect Martinborough, Featherston, Greytown, Carterton, and Masterton to the Remutaka Cycle Trail, the funding would go towards developing the Tauherenikau Bridge section.
This included 11.5km of picturesque trail with a 150-metre-long suspension bridge over the Tauherenikau River. The funding was part of a $220m nationwide cycleways package announced by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter.
Despite the shock of the incident, Edwards said he was “still cycling”, and was awaiting any further information from the police.
Unfortunately there are a lot of “near misses” and this is a common occurance. I personally have experienced this on my last two cycle rides where It is the motorist mentality of “might has right”. As a cyclist I don’t go out on a cycle ride to annoy or deliberately slow down motor vehicles. I only make decisions to “take the lane” if I consider my safety to be at risk and I do this with the understanding that the other road users (car, bus ,truck, motorcycle) respect that my decision is for a valid reason and won’t put me at risk by passing me dangerously or outside the law e.g. 100m clear road after you have passed the vehicle and before you start passing.