CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
" Rickshaw safety rules ‘too late to save Christopher’ "
(23 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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Tragic though this accident was If I recall correctly he tried to jump out of the moving pedicab whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Posted 13 years ago # -
makes sense. 'was never told to sit down or wear a seatbelt' Are cab passengers required to wear a seatbelt?
Posted 13 years ago # -
I believe so, ruggtomcat.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Yes, and if they don't it's their own lookout - not the driver's.
I find it a bit baffling. The rider was never charged with doing anything wrong, nor was the pedicab found to be in less than perfect condition.
A convenient moral panic allowing some regulation to be applied (read: money charged and votes won) is all, I think.
Posted 13 years ago # -
People seem to accept road death when a motorized vehicle is involved but bring pedal powered vehicles into the equation and " something must be done!" At no point was excessive alcohol consumption mentioned which was probably a major contributing factor to this poor man's tragic accident.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I know it's not a laughing matter, but the stupidity of Evening News article posters knows no bounds, and this had me going;
3alan99
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:43 PM Perhaps a good place to start would be to start obeying the Road Traffic Acts. For example no cycling on the pavement, obey no entry signs and keep left signs.4Luvmacity
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:09 PM Alan99, I've yet to see a rickshaw on the pavement.
Report UnsuitablePosted 13 years ago # -
Unless there's a very wide dropped kerb, I reckon it would quite difficult to cycle a rickshaw up onto the pavement.
You're absolutely right about commenters on Evening News articles. Reading them is enough to drain the will to live.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Interestingly on the seat belt thing, from DirectGov:
You don't need to wear a seat belt if you're:
... a licensed taxi driver who is 'plying for hire' or carrying passengersI'm pretty sure in a car the driver is actually responsible for making sure his passengers are wearing belts.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Unfortunately I have actually seen a rickshaw on the pavement.
Interesting that the EEN frothers still want to lump them in with cyclists even when the article aligns them with taxis.Posted 13 years ago # -
Something bad has happened and somebody must be to blame. It's all too late to save the tragic victim but there should be an enquiry so that lessons can be learned, new laws or regulation put in place or something done to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. That's the script. Every unfortunate event, however it arises, runs to the same script.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Anth, the driver is responsible for ensuring children are properly restrained. Adults look after themselves.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Every unfortunate event, however it arises, runs to the same script. "
Even car accidents? Too frequent?
Posted 13 years ago # -
What about the first ever car death? They said t should never happen again.....
"The location of the World's first ever death by car."
Location: Crystal Palace Grounds
Description: Bridget Driscoll received instant notoriety when she stepped off the kerb and into the history books on August 17th 1896. Mrs Driscoll, a 44 year old housewife, who was travelling from Old Town, Croydon to a folk-dancing display in Crystal Palace, became the first pedestrian in the UK to be killed by a car.
Mrs Driscoll, a resident of Croydon, was hit by a demonstration car travelling at 4mph. She died within minutes of receiving a head injury.
At Mrs Driscoll's inquest, Coroner William Percy Morrison said he hoped that such a thing would never happen again and was the first to apply the term accident to violence caused by speed. Coroners across the country have followed his example ever since.
Witnesses said that the car, driven by Arthur Edsel, was travelling at a reckless pace, in fact, like a fire engine. Mr Edsel claimed that he had only been doing 4 mph and that he had rung his bell as a warning. The jury took six hours to reach a verdict that Mrs. Driscoll had died of accidental death.
Posted 13 years ago # -
That jury... things could have been so different :P
Posted 13 years ago # -
@Instography: "the driver is responsible for ensuring children are properly restrained. Adults look after themselves." I always thought it was the driver's responsibility to make sure his passengers were belted in, regardless of age. I may be wrong (wouldn't be the first time...) but I'm old enough to have been driving when the seatbelt law was passed, and I seem to recall back then that a favourite factoid of the Public Bar pedantry was the legal responsibility of the driver to ensure all his passengers were using belts...?
Posted 13 years ago # -
Well, there are two basic offences - driving (or being a passenger in) a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt, and driving a vehicle in which a minor is not restrained. So there is an offence committed if you take your seatbelt off, but not by the driver (provided you're over-age).
Posted 13 years ago # -
@ Its_Me_Knees
I think it was the case when the seatbelt laws were brought in,but then changedPosted 13 years ago # -
@Custard: That would explain the dichotomy. How old am I, eh?
Posted 13 years ago # -
What? Are people still alive who were around when those laws came out?
;-)
Posted 13 years ago # -
I can even remember what it was like before the internet... ;-)
Posted 13 years ago # -
As an ex manager of the biggest Rickshaw company in Edinburgh - this was a highly frustrating article to read.
We had been lobbying the council since 2009 to put together more stringent rules. Which they know as they interviewed me in 2009:http://www.scotsman.com/news/rickshaws_in_safety_row_1_1215543
"Edinburgh Pedicabs operations manager Alex Robertson said he would be keen to see more regulation. He said: "We're certainly working with the council to ensure more stringent rules to ensure the safety and efficiency of pedicabs.
"We fully investigate any complaints. If they're upheld, then the driver is fined or we don't let them drive a cab again."
The council repeatedly told us they were "too busy working on the new Alcohol licencing" which we all know has worked out well....
They also interview Greg who owned the cab that the chap unfortunately came out of. Not mentioning of course that the driver on the cab was unlicensed and completely unknown to the council.
Anyway a fairly unfortunate article for all involved I'd say. Obviously massive condolences to the family.
Posted 13 years ago #
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