Cyclist trapped inside level crossing explains what happened

So she:
* Rode on the wrong side of the road.
* Sailed through the give way line, on what appears to be a blind bend (who even puts a junction on a blind bend).

All whilst the signal is sounding and flashing and the barrier on her side of the road is fully down. Whilst riding an unroadworthy bike and tired and suffering with a disability which (from the way she describes) it makes her unsafe to be on the road.

We all make bad judgement calls, but that is quite a catalogue. I hope she learns something from it.

Surely being in charge of a vehicle whilst knowingly impaired by fatigue or disability is an offence in itself?

Not sure this will help her with the internet lynch mob...  

Just a line of excuses. She ducked as the barrier came down, so knew it was coming down. Also if she had been adhering to the road layout she would of not been on the wrong side of the road trying to get a short cut to beat the barrier. Here is the satellite view

I call bullshit on this.

"I have a condition called dyspraxia which often inhibits my coordination and means the processing-gap between thinking something and doing it is a lot larger than it would be for most people." and "Despite what the footage may suggest, I did attempt to brake when I found myself within a metre of the crossing as the barrier was coming down. But to make matters even worse my right brake failed and I sped through regardless."

The footage shows she is approaching the level crossing from a side road, and therefore she should have been slowing for the junction regardless of what the level crossing was doing.  Which she didn't - therefore she knew that the cars were stopped and she used the opportunity to blow through the junction without stopping

Secondly, despite the appaling quality of the video you can make out that she is still pedalling on the approach to the crossing even when the barriers are dropping, and she only stops pedalling as she ducks to get under the barrier.

Thirdly, the barriers on the left hand side of each approach are already down, and given that it took the barriers that she ducked under had taken over 5 seconds to descend, this means that lights and bells for the level crossing would have been activated for at least a full 5 seconds before the cyclist came into frame, but probably more likely 15 seconds.

All of which suggest that she is trying to play the disability card to get out of a blatantly wrong action.  This was not a mistake it was a deliberate risk that she took, and it almost went horribly wrong

I have empathy with her, well I would if she had just said "I have a disability that contributed but ultimately I fucked up".

Let me tell you a story. I'm a diabetic, I was on the train home feeling somewhat wobbly with low sugars. I got off the train at my station and had nearly lost all common sense so went to WH Smith for some chocolate, obviously hadn't lost all my senses as I refused to pay their prices. I woke up on a spinal board in an ambulance, in hospital the nurse told me a garage had my bike after witnessing an incident and gave me their business card.

I now remember falling over trying to mount the bike outside the station, riding crazily down the middle of the road struggling to even focus. What I didn't expect was the garage to be 2 miles in the wrong direction and the owner tell me if hit the back of a parked car at about 20mph with no attempt to deviate.

I was lucky, I have a bit of an excuse and 99.9% of the time I'm ok. But, I have a disability that contributed but ultimately I fucked up...

She missed out that a big boy made her do it....

There was plenty of time to stop. She just thought she'd get away with it before the barrier closed.

Playing chicken with trains is not smart.

She missed out that a big boy made her do it....

There was plenty of time to stop. She just thought she'd get away with it before the barrier closed.

Playing chicken with trains is not smart.

Ye gods! You're a tough audience.

Video quality is not good enough to see clearly her pedalling action,  but several factors suggest she was either dangerously oblivious to traffic (with priority on the major road, as she sailed over the give way line (on the wong side of the road with no attempt to check on traffic (which had long been stopped for the crossing closure signals) that had priority, and continued pedalling strongly, if anything accelerating (the video quality is too poor to tell), as she ducks to avoid the barrier, and only stops pedalling once on the crossing and realising that a collision with the closed barrier is unevitable unless she stops.

When you are in a hole.....

Congratulations to all the perfect people who have never made a mistake,your all wonderfull.

I'm a tad skeptical.

She ducked perfectly and didn't slow for the first barrier at all. So any coordination issues didn't seem to hamper her there. And if her front brake really did fail ahead of the barrier, the rear one failed as effectively - there was very little braking.

But then it, or, more likely, both, are working again for her to stop dead ahead of the barrier which is actually down: again, coordination seems bang on.

I'm channelling Occam, and he's saying 'mate, she wanted to bomb across the track and fucked it up'.

I am glad she doesn't drive if this is the effect of her medical condition. I don't have a problem with her being on a bike (mistakes made are far more likely to injure her than others) but would suggest to her that cycling on the correct side of the road and cycling far more slowly and catiously might be good strategies for managing the impact of her medical condition. I'm a little saddened by the vitriol on here (I suppose it is the bottom half of the internet!) and also by the sounds of it in the real world. However there does seem to be a bit of a lack of willimgness to accepe personal responsobility for an error.

If she is unwell, as she describes, I've sympathy with her. I hope she never puts herself or others in danger by riding a bicycle again.

If she isn't unwell, I hope she never puts herself or others in danger by riding a bicycle again.

Utter horseshit.

I've  just re-read her bullshit

take steps to ensure I’m never put in a similar position

So basically she was 'put in that position rather than finding herself in it by her own actions.  All smacks of not my fault. I noticed also she claims to have really slow reaction times but yet can duck under a barrier. If she was that off she'd have got smacked in the head by the barrier. 

I think she does drive, the black X5 in the SMIDSY thread....

Stupid woman. Always excuses. I don’t believe her. 

Tiredness, dyspraxia, and poor brakes?.

Fatigued to the point of making bad decisions? - Don't cycle.

Medical condition affecting ability to cycle? - Don't cycle.

Insufficient brakes? Don't cycle.

It's like the rubbish excuses road users give for mowing down pedestrians/cyclists etc.

Are we expected to say "well done" to her for responsibly not driving a car?????

Word to her. Get off the fucking roads.

This so called "explantion" is a load of old cobblers tbh. Not only has this woman admitted riding an unroadworthy bike with faulty brakes, she has also admitted not being a fit person to be on the road in the first place! And I quote "I have a condition called dyspraxia which often inhibits my coordination and means the processing-gap between thinking something and doing it is a lot larger than it would be for most people.  I don’t drive – thankfully – as this would probably make me a danger to pedestrians and other motorists". And she isn't on a bike??

She has also completely ignored the red light and bleeping which come on way in advance of the barrier coming down.