Police witness appeal after Prestbury hit and run
A CYCLIST was left shaken and hurt after she was knocked off her bike in a hit and run on Friday night.
A 63-year-old woman was riding along Prestbury Road towards Cheltenham town centre when she was hit by a small red car coming out of Priors Road shortly before 10pm.
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Gloucestershire Constabulary
The driver of the car slowed down but failed to stop after the incident.
The woman suffered grazes to her legs and bruises to her arms.
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The junction where the incident happened is split in two, with a triangular one-way system in place.
Councillor Les Godwin (Prestbury, PAB) said he was "surprised" by the incident because of how wide the Priors Road junction is.
He said: "I am rather surprised by this because the junction at Priors Road is probably one of the widest in Cheltenham and it has an in and an out with two separate entrances.
"Just further up the road, a few hundred yards, away is a busier multi-junction. Even that one, with all of its complications, doesn't generate accidents.
"Over recent years, the People Against Bureaucracy (PAB) group has asked for and achieved road improvements with weight restriction notices, slow signs and things like that being put up in Prestbury.
"Right next to that Priors Road junction is a pedestrian crossing which is a reminder, even if no one is using it, that pedestrians could be crossing the road. "This must be the first time ever I have heard of something like this happening for that bit of road."
Councillor Malcolm Stennett (Prestbury, PAB) said: "I think this poor lady was probably very unfortunate to have this happen to her because things like this don't tend to happen along there.
"Generally speaking, Prestbury Road is pretty safe. It is well used by cyclists and it is ideal for them because it is fairly flat but the cyclists obviously need to ensure they are well visible at night.
"Too often we see cyclists who are not."
The incident happened days before National Road Safety Week, which starts today.
Witnesses of the crash should call police on 101, quoting incident 479 of November 16.
Comments
by MIMI1900
Tuesday, November 20 2012, 12:38PM
“The victim had front and back lights and the area has plenty of street lighting!!”
by charlie2times
Monday, November 19 2012, 8:59PM
“Right, so the reaction of the councilor is to say that it was probably the cyclists fault because they are not visible enough. The law states a bike should have front and back lights, just like a car, so this means a bike will be harder to see from the side, just like a car. Where are all the calls for motorised vehicles to have luminous jackets?
The fact is that in urban areas with street lights you can see pretty much everything, whether they are lit or not, otherwise there would slaughter on our streets every night, with pedestrians getting knocked over left right and centre.
Make pedestrians wear lights i say :)”
by pete_uk
Monday, November 19 2012, 7:26PM
“There's a hint of victim blaming in what Mr. Stennet said. At no point did he place the blame of knocking the woman off her bike onto the driver. He issues advice to people on bikes, but no mention of drivers looking properly when negotiating a junction. It doesn't matter how wide the junction is or how many signs have been place on the road, if a driver doesn't look then it's all for nothing.”
by MIMI1900
Monday, November 19 2012, 2:44PM
“The driver did not stop to give way to the cyclist and left her lying in the road knowing they had hit her. Perhaps driver thought they could pull out of the juntion and turn right towards Prestbury before the cyclist reached the junction only the cyclist was expecting the driver to stop and give way. Very poor judgment by the driver and you failed to report an accident. Wonder if you had something to hide??”
by Steve_Thomas
Monday, November 19 2012, 1:43PM
“Unlucky to have been hit by a car, but not so unlucky as to have been seriously injured. Pretty remiss of the motorist to drive away, though. Hope the victim took his/her number.
I thought the Priors Road/Prestbury Road junction was in Oakley, not Prestbury! Shouldn't Cllrs Hay have been asked to comment?”