A40 cycle death Thursday 10th March

[indalo]

If this has already been reported, I must have missed it and I do apologise.

I just read in my local rag today that the station commander at RAF Northolt died last week following a cycling accident on the A40. Evidently he was in a collision with a white Transit van shortly after finishing duty.

Group Captain Tom Barrett, 44, survived tours of duty in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan and had been in charge at RAF Northolt for two years. He leaves a wife and two young daughters.

Although the van driver stopped at the scene, he was not arrested and police are appealing for witnesses.

Although I didn't know the man, I lived in close proximity with the base for several years, worked with many RAF personnel and I always keep up with developments there. I was touched by the strength of feeling expressed in the many tributes to Group Captain Barrett from various quarters.

Britain's roads are not safe for people on two wheels. How many more cyclists have to die on the roads before legislation is introduced giving priority and protection to cyclists? We can do much better in the UK.

 

[lemmy]

I echo that. I while back I was driving up the A3 and saw an (obviously dead) cyclist in the road where he had been hit by a car entering from a slipway.

It really depresses you because apart from the tragedy of the death, the bicycle is such a positive, essentially benign device but given so little credence in this country.

I found that attitude very different when I lived in France (though far from perfect there) and was quite shocked when I came back to the UK three years ago and became subject to UK drivers again.