Flying bikes and retro races
If you thought victim blaming was a relatively modern phenomenon then think again. Coroners were at it over a century ago. This week ’s magazine highlights a tragic incident where a woman was driven into from behind and killed. The headline ‘The Fallacy of Rear Lights’ might seem strange in the age of cheap, small, easy to attach LED lights, but there’s more to it. The Manchester City Coroner summed up by saying, “The unfortunate incident would not have occurred if the cyclist had carried a rear reflector.” He then offered the opinion that it was the duty of cycling organisations to devote their energies towards the adoption of some for m of rear light.
The writer turns to the evidence to refute the coroner ’s assumptions: “The efficiency of reflectors depends entirely upon the power of the lamps on a vehicle and the evidence [from the chauffeur no less] showed the headlamps weren’t work ing and the side lamps revealed ‘nothing but a dead black .’”
The writer looks at the speeds involved too. “The cyclist was riding at a speed of 10 to 12 miles an hour while the driver declared he was not travelling more than 12. The slight difference in pace must have necessitated the motorcar being driven for a long way in close proximit y to the cyclist. The inability of the driver to see the lady [means] the lamps were inadequate.”
At Herne Hill’s Meeting of Champions an
