Another Durban cyclist hurt in road accident
A Durban cyclist who was knocked over by a bakkie this morning near Moses Mabhida Stadium says such behaviour is unacceptable.
Leonard Silas says he and a group of other cyclists had been training in the designated cycling circuit lane on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue at about 5.30am when the van knocked him off his bicycle.
Also read: Durban cyclists killed while out on morning ride
Silas says they were all in reflective gear and had their rear and front lights on - making it impossible to miss them.
"We were riding with a cycle club and a bakkie came around the bend, comes close to me and so I shouted at him, saying - hey where are you going? Before I knew it, he was right on top of me and knocked me over. I fell onto the payment and sustained quite a bit of injuries," he said.
Silas says he and the other cyclists had been training for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, taking place in a little over two weeks' time.
He says motorists need to be educated on cyclists' rights, especially because such incidents happen quite often.
"The sad part is two weeks ago, we had two of our cyclists slain by a drunken driver and once again we have reckless driving.
"Absolutely, grossly negligent drivers will drive in our lane and knock us down. There's got to be some kind of safety measures for cyclists," he said.
Leonard has opened a case of negligent driving against the driver of the bakkie.
Nearly two weeks ago, Durban cyclists Jared Dwyer and Richards Da Silva were mowed down and killed by an alleged drunk driver on the M4 freeway near the Swapo off-ramp.
The driver, Omesh Ramnarain is facing two counts of culpable homicide, one of drunken driving and reckless and negligent driving. He is out on R10 000 bail.
(File photo: Gallo Images)