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Cyclists remember dead student
7:25am Monday 21st May 2007
A WHITE bicycle was laid at the spot where a student was killed, as part of an international tribute for dead cyclists.
Tsz Fok, 22, died in a cycling accident at the junction of Parks Road and Broad Street, Oxford, in a collision with a recycling lorry last month. On Friday evening a white 'ghost bike' was chained to a post near the spot where the third-year engineering student from Worcester College lost his life.
About 15 cyclists then took part in a 'Ride of Silence' through the city to pay tribute to all bike riders who have been killed on the roads.
Organiser Dan Harris, of Oxford Cycle Workshop, said: "This is about us as a community.
"Never mind the politics behind being a cyclist or a driver in this city, someone died on a bike and we wanted to mark the fact that the cycling community of Oxford has lost someone."
After locking the cycle at the junction the cyclists rode together along Parks Road, through Jericho and the city centre before returning to The Sheldonian Theatre in Broad Street.
One cyclist wore a sign announcing it was a 'Ride of Silence' to warn motorists and pedestrians.
Mr Harris added: "It is a brilliant city to cycle around and a fabulous place to own a bike.
"As a cyclist I see dangers from pedestrians through to buses and I don't think any one group can be singled out as a problem."
The ride is an international event that was taking place in cities across the world last week.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Oxford East, joined Friday's ride and called for improvements to be made to the junction where Mr Fok was killed.
He said: "I am a keen cyclist and we need to make sure the roads are cycle friendly and safer.
"This junction should be made safer with a larger turning circle for cars to avoid bikes."
After Mr Fok died, more than 40 floral tributes were left against the railings outside the Bodleian Library, opposite the crash site, by friends and family.
Oxfordshire County Council is continuing to review possible measures to improve the junction. Council officers are examining the traffic lights and handing out road safety advice for students.
Your Say YourOxford
Andrew C., Temple Cowley says...
11:22am Mon 21 May 07
Nice bit of sweeping generalisation there. I'm sure it won't last long on the site though.
Interesting to see the Ghost Bike idea applied in Oxford. More info: http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Ghost_bike
Mikey, Oxford says...
1:03pm Mon 21 May 07
I have lived and worked in and around oxford for over 20 years and a VERY small number of cyclists that i have encountered on any road (or footpath) have NOT broken the highway code or indeed the law.
Guillemette Cox, oxford says...
2:08pm Mon 21 May 07
Guillemette Cox, oxford says...
2:11pm Mon 21 May 07
Andrew C., Temple Cowley says...
5:56pm Mon 21 May 07
You'd make a better point if motorists got THEIR house in order before mouthing off. Case in point: it's rare that I get overtaken by a motorist who *isn't* ignoring one of highway code rules 138 (suitable gap in front) and 139 (cutting in too quickly, the amount of room to leave). And don't get me started on motorists' habitual lawbreaking: the laws on posted speed limits and encroaching on the area reserved for cyclists at advanced stop lines seem to be broken by almost everyone I see behind a wheel.
@Guillemette Cox
Quite right. It's a confusing mess, but there are so few things that would fit in the space that wouldn't be a confusing mess. If you think this is bad though, wait till you see what the University suggested for the junction further on down Parks Road o_O
Mikey, Oxford says...
10:32am Tue 22 May 07
You'd have made a better point if you hadn't resorted to personal attacks.
Case in point-where in my last comment is my opinion that "motorists" always stick to the law and the Highway code?
Infact, where does it say that i am a motorist?......Someo
ne is very overprotective about their ability as a cyclist....Guilty Conscience?
fred, E.Oxford says...
1:26pm Wed 30 May 07
And it's not just that they don't bother to look, which happens frequently. Pedestrians assume that just because they have looke I will in fact stop when I usually don't have time. Get a grip everyone please.
William, Kennington says...
8:49pm Tue 25 Sep 07
I witness more cyclists ignoring red lights and traffic prohibition notices than I have witnessed motor vehicle drivers doing likewise. This is not an isolated occurrence it occurs several times a day. In contrast weeks can go by before the number of flouting motor vehicle drivers equals one day's worth of cyclists.
I also note that cyclists complain about people stepping out in front of them. What I want to know is if the cyclists have a bell (and lights after dark) on their bike (which they are supposed to have). If they do did they sound it? If they do not why do they not have a bell?
I have had the misfortune to be the witness to four people being killed in road accidents. Three of them were killed by pedal cyclists riding at speed on the pavement. The fourth by a motorcyclist riding through a red light. In all four cases the person in control of their mechanically propelled device was not prosecuted despite the fact they were so obviously in contravention of the law. I wodner if a car driver would have escaped so lightly?
Ben, oxford says...
6:47pm Wed 3 Oct 07
Could you provide any information on the case you witnessed where three people died due to cyclists on the pavement (date, location)? I have heard repeated many times that there are zero deaths caused by cycling on the pavement each year. I don't believe I have ever heard of another case.
Chrysaor, 096-582 says...
7:25pm Fri 19 Oct 07
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Victim: Tsz Fok
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Rob, Cowley says...
10:41am Mon 21 May 07