Coroner says tram tracks led to death of cyclist in Croydon

The MASSIVE disappointment here is that the clear professionals for impartial and objective investigation of incidents involving rail systems were not involved in the investigation.

There are 3 very distinct ways in which you will lose control of a bike when crossing a rail obliquely.

1) the angle is so shallow that your wheel drops into the flangeway groove - unlikely in this case as the cyclist was local and experienced, and would have been riding to avoid this.

2) sliding along the rail surface. This generally occurs when the rail surface is above the level of the abutting road surface, sufficiently to lift the tyre contact patch clear of the higher friction road surfaces , when there is a side thrust (ie turning a corner) on the contact patch. The result was clearly a proven issue in the case of Roe vs Sheffield Supertram & others where eventually a driver secured substantial damages fro life-changing injuries recieved when his car crashed after all wheels were lifted clear of the road surface by rails sitting well over the specified limit above the road surface. Sheffield now has a regular inspection regime to ensure that rails are never more than 3mm higher than abutting road surfaces. This is also less likely as again the rider was local and experienced

3) hitting a vertical discrepancy obliquely. Simply the same effect as striking a dropped kerb at a shallow angle. The upper eged of the 'step' forms a pivot point for the forces of the rider and bike acting against the reaction through the contact patch. Extensive testing of the tram line tactile paving (HUGE clue there) used on cycle routes took place at TRL just over 20 years ago paid for by DETR (now DfT) and guess what - all that detail has been lost! However it is preserved in the dimensions set for the tactile paving, and other road surface features - a maximum of 5-6mm is the limit for vertical ridges at dropped kerbs, tactile tramlines, level crossings etc, and for the slippery metal of street manhole covers, and slippery thermoplastic road markings its 3mm. Now go and find some compliant infrastructure! Photos taken at the site after the crash show how tarmac has sunk or extruced under the weight of motor traffic, turning - often exceeding 25mm in places, with a section of the tarmac abutting the rail not far from the site of the fatal crash, recently patched up.

Of course these hazards would be greatly reduced if the rails were crossed square-on, and a fundamantly detail at this junction is the S curve that the Southbound traffic from Cherry Orchard Road has to make to provide the space for a pedestrian island - on which pedestrians are (in theory) marooned to facilitate the traffic signal sequence whcih avoids delaying trams and vehicles using the carriageway The island goes nowhere - it is only used to corral pedestrian traffic. Without that island the traffic would cross the rails at an angle AND without turning, which would eliminate the potential for cyclists losing control through every one of those 3 factors.

This had the Coroner sought a rule 43 (prevention of future deaths) report, or the crash been meticulously investigated (perhaps by RAIB, or HSC - who both have an interest in investigating incidents on a tram system) with the factors noted we might have seen a change in how the findings of this inquest were presented*.

* An RAIB report would have given clear recommendations, which would probably include removing the pedestrian island and delivering a revised junction design, plus dealing with the road surface issues - which are I suspect due to the lack of design experience in the original specifications for the on-street track which is currently requiring major renewals and repair as rails move and tarmac rises, sinks and breaks away in chunks.

Jeez, anyone who rides on roads with tram lines and keeps getting thrown off by the tracks is a bit dim.
Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Gothenburg... they all seem to manage pretty well

Live in Melbourne, Aus and despite being a bit dim manage OK - because the tramlines almost always run in the centre of the roads away from cyclists and junctions are at right angles so plenty of space to cross tracks at right angles. Which I believe is also true of at least Amsterdam and Gothenburg.

- Used to live in Sheffield and had to regularly use Middlewood Rd, Langsett RD and Holmes Lane - all with parallel tram tracks in the lane which cyclists use and any obstruction (eg car reverse parking, delivery truck, vehicle nosed out of junction) meant you needed to very rapidly assess braking distance or find enough room to cross tracks obliquely - usually into traffic, if it didn't challenge my intellect it certainly required experience of spotting dangers and how and when to take the lane beyond that normally required. Alternative routes aren't always easy to find.

Of course there is always Edinburgh Council's solution - with the punchline at the end:

Advice for cyclists
Cross the tracks close to a right angle. This won’t always be possible, but by crossing as close to a right angle as you can you’ll avoid slipping on the tracks.

Mind the gap. Keep your wheels out of the tram tracks, especially when overtaking other vehicles or turning at junctions.

Take care when cycling in the rain, the tracks will be slippery.

Think ahead and signal early. Plan how you will cross the tracks and let other road users know your intentions.

Know your limits. Depending on the situation and your cycling experience, you may prefer to get off your bike at a safe point on the road to continue your journey.

Jeez, anyone who rides on roads with tram lines and keeps getting thrown off by the tracks is a bit dim.

Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Gothenburg... they all seem to manage pretty well.

I cycle to and from East Croydon station every day - I get off the train and head into London to work, then head back for my return journey south. The tram tracks in Croydon generally are quiet chaotic. I'm used to them (I've fallen over once a few years ago after crossing at too shallow an angle - lesson learned), but still find it intimidating due to cars in very close proximity when crossing the lines as I need to almost always adjust my angle. Every crossing seems to be very narrow as they follow the roads and cross them frequently.

I'm not sure what the council can do to be honest - the ideal solution would be to put different sequencing of traffic lights to allow cyclist to progress at different times to vehicular traffic, but I guess that would cause chaos to the general transport system (there are actually not all that many cyclists in Croydon compared to other parts of London from what I have seen over the years). Indeed, the most difficult part of cycling there is the stupid pedestrians.

how hard is it to cycle on a road with tram tracks?

sadly as this death shows adding tram tracks to road layouts designed for other vehicles is dangerous - complex junctions are designed to be read by approaching drivers - cyclists (and in some cases pedestrians) are left to try to work out how to safely negotiate them...then throw in something that restricts where you can ride and at what angle you can turn and the mix turns dangerous

very pro tram and pro public transport but for trams and cyclists to mix the design needs to look at cyclists first not as an afterthought and needs to be able to work for those without years of cycling experience to call on

good call by the Coroner

Can't be nice being run over by a bus. Feel bad for the guy. If only he had fallen the other way....

I understand that accidents happen, and always will do.
No matter what infrastructure is in place, someone will always fall off their bike, somewhere, at some point.

But, this story still comes back to a cyclist not being able to navigate around/over/alongside tram lines. (See previous story of a Nottingham guy breaking ribs)
Seriously......how hard is it to cycle on a road with tram tracks?

If it really is 'that' hard then Danny Macaskill should forget making a video on the Cuillin Ridge on Skye and just ride through city centre Edinburgh/Manchester/Nottingham/et al.

Should the bus driver drive in such a way that he can stop if a cyclist falls over?

I got stuck in the tram tracks about 300m to the East of where this tragedy happened. Fortunately I was thrown off my bike to the left rather than right. I've raised it with councillors who fobbed me off and TfL who don't even seem to understand what the issue is. All of that, what, 10 months after someone had died in similar circumstances mere metres away.

It's blindingly obvious that minor accidents such as mine can result in fatal incidents like in this story, yet the 'decision makers' can't put two and two together. It would be completely negligent and unacceptable in any other industry but on the roads it's all 'at your own risk', creating infrastructure that is patently dangerous for some road users. Pathetic.

I can almost see that junction from here. There is a section past it where the tram tracks get very close to the pavement. If you're on the left of the tracks rather than in between them then this can be a bit hairy.

Poor bloke.