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news
Broken bike (CC licensed image by garryknight, www.flickr.com)RTW cyclist killed in front of family as he neared end of five-year record breaking journey
A cyclist who was attempting to set a record on his round the world trip was killed on a Thai road this week, in front of his wife and two year old son.
Juan Francisco Guillermo, 47, had embarked on a five year, 155,000 mile journey in November 2010 and was just nine months away from finishing when he was hit by a pickup truck and killed instantly.
Guillermo, a Chilean. was attempting to set a Guinness world record by finishing the journey within five years, taking in five continents.
His wife, who was cycling separately with his son, suffered a sprain in the collision, according to police Col Torsak Thammingmongkol.
The driver of the pickup truck was arrested on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail. He could receive a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The officer said: “It was an accident caused by the driver’s recklessness. The road was straight and the cyclist was in his own lane.”
According to a recent study from the University of Michigan, Thailand has the second-highest traffic fatality rate in the world, with 44 deaths per 100,000 population.
The only country with roads deadlier than Thailand’s was Namibia, which had 45 deaths. Iran was ranked just behind Thailand with 38 deaths, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
In 2013, a British couple who were also attempting a round-the-world cycling trip were both killed in a road collision.
Peter Root and Mary Thompson were hit by a truck in a province east of Bangkok.
Thai police said that investigators found their bodies, their bicycles and their belongings scattered along a roadside, along with a pickup truck that crashed between some trees.
Latest Comments
- Mr Blackbird 2 sec ago
Inexcusable. Allows people like Iain Duncan-Smith and other Daily Telegraph buffers to tar all cyclists with the same brush.
- David9694 5 min 40 sec ago
You have to wonder how many drivers are merrily writing-off their cars this way. Nearly all the coverage is flooding related - Chippenham and...
- Mr Blackbird 16 min 36 sec ago
It is quite possible that the driver was suffering from dementia to some degree. In such cases, a sufferer may not be aware they have a problem. I...
- Stijn De Vlee 34 min 42 sec ago
Why is there only one (expensive) SRAM group available (only Red, no Force)?
- Gbjbanjs 35 min 4 sec ago
Prudhomme is the worst thing in pro cycling - even worse than the green washing and red washing.
- OnYerBike 1 hour 14 sec ago
Where did you read the minimum tariff is 5 years? Sentencing Guidelines says it's 2 years (minimum disqualification is 5 years)....
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Won't you think of the residents rodents?...
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That is some rustic sashimi there...
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I bought the excellent Edge 1040 last year with a good, but not sensational, reduction, and this year I have bought a couple of expensive academic...
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Having been through redundancy due to an employer going bankrupt, it's good to read that the employees should get their redundancy and pension...
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13 comments
What I have seen most commonly in Thailand is effectively an asphalted hard shoulder to the left of the traffic lanes and used most by scooters and slow motorised traffic - tuk-tuks and old motorbike/sidecar transport combinations and the like - as well as roadside stalls.
From my experiences cycling there, while it was all more chaotic than we are used to here, drivers seemed very aware of me and what I might be going to do, probably from all the practice they get looking out for scooters. There are not a lot of cyclists in general. Drivers don't usually go onto the hard shoulder, unless parking or turning at a junction.
I think Thailand's casualty figures get pushed up by 2 things, they heavy scooter traffic with the low use of helmets, and the drunk driving. While I knew about the high casualty rates, the irony is that the roads there felt safer, and certainly much less aggressive than here at home
RIP. Absolutely tragic.
I think the killer truck driver of Pete Root and Mary Thompson was only fined the equivalent of £17.
RIP
The officer said: “It was an accident caused by the driver’s recklessness. The road was straight and the cyclist was in his own lane.”
Another 'accident' FFS.
Thoughts with family and friends of the guy.
Not everyone uses the word accident to mean nobody was to blame. If you read the article fully you'd see they apportion blame quite clearly.
Indeed, infact they seem to be dealing with it quickly and decisively. It seems thialand's road police (if not safety standards) favour cyclists much more than the uk nice to see coments like 'the cyclist was in his own LANE' I guess due to therebeing many more cyclists as a percentage of traffic.
Not everyone uses the word accident to mean nobody was to blame. If you read the article fully you'd see they apportion blame quite clearly.
Not everyone uses the word accident to mean nobody was to blame. If you read the article fully you'd see they apportion blame quite clearly.
R.I.P and condolences to the family left behind,
I suspect a number of Namibian deaths involve drivers not used to driving on unsealed road surfaces and the presence of drifts rather than bridges where roads and rivers cross.
I suspect a number of Namibian deaths involve drivers not used to driving on unsealed road surfaces and the presence of drifts rather than bridges where roads and rivers cross.
Also the salt roads are like sheet ice when it gets wet.
Absolutely tragic.
Surprised to hear that Namibia's roads are so deadly, as the population isn't huge