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Inquest opens in Canberra into Mike Hall's deathMike Hall during 2017 Indian Pacific Wheel Race.jpg

Inquest opens in Canberra into Mike Hall's death

Police say rider's dark clothing and light position made him difficult to see; driver admits he was distracted beforehand...
by Simon_MacMichael
Mon, Sep 24, 2018 12:54
38

The inquest has opened into the death near Canberra in March last year of British ultracyclist Mike Hall, who was killed near the Australian capital while taking part in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race.

The 35-year-old died from head, spinal and back injuries after being hit from behind by a car driven by 19-year-old Shegu Bobb, who was on his way to work in Canberra when the fatal crash happened at 6.20am on the morning of 31 March 2017.

ABC.net.au reports that the motorist was travelling at almost 100 kilometres an hour and that Hall’s death would have been “almost instantaneous.”

Hall, the founder of the Transcontinental Race and one of the top riders on the ultracycling scene, had been lying in second place in the race from Fremantle to Sydney when he was killed.

The inquest was told that Hall was wearing dark clothing that did not have reflective materials and that his rear light was at the same height as roadside marker posts, making it difficult for drivers to see.

Senior Constable Adam Potts said that as a result Bobb – driving on P-plates, which drivers who have passed their test within the preceding year are required to display – said that he would not have had enough time to avoid hitting the cyclist.

However, the motorist – who initially believed he had hit a kangaroo  – admitted that he had been distracted by a truck parked in a closed petrol station immediately before hitting Hall.

He has not been charged with any offence to date in connection with Hall’s death, and counsel assisting the inquest is reportedly unlikely to recommend to the coroner that the case ne referred to prosecutors.

Counsel assisting the inquest also read extracts from the rules of the last year’s race, saying that they were "effectively silent" on issues related to safety.

It had been planned for the race to return this year, with organiser Jesse Carlsson saying last October that the second edition would have  “some pretty strict visibility restrictions in place.”

In February, however, he announced that the 2018 race would be cancelled due to the inquest and its potential outcome.

The inquest is expected to last three days.

Indian Pacific Wheel Race
Mike Hall
Mike Hall inquest
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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38 comments

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to a1white | 6 years ago
2 likes

a1white wrote:

The Hunger Games on wheels comment is disgraceful. It's clear the trial is already prejudiced .

it's not a trial, the police have already decided not to charge, this is an inquest, totally different thing.

Avatar
aegisdesign replied to a1white | 6 years ago
1 like

a1white wrote:

The Hunger Games on wheels comment is disgraceful. It's clear the trial is already prejudiced .

That appears to have come from a piece in the Sydney Morning Herald from March 2017 before the race. It's attributed to the organiser. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/the-hunger-games-on-wheels-indian-p...

An unfortunate comment to make but how would he have known. But now it's being used as a click-bait headline by AAP and mentioned by the coroner in the inquest. The Guardian ran with the AAP article and headline earlier today but they've now changed it. Earlier I was sure it read the "prosecutor" said it but that's clearly incorrect in an inquest. There's no prosecutor.

Avatar
RobD | 6 years ago
9 likes

I do think the messages that seem to be coming out of this are pretty worrying, the usual stories about dark clothing (yes not the best idea but not exactly illegal) and that the light wasn't suitable, despite the fact that the driver admitted to being distracted and video footage from the documentary makers have shown how Mike's setup was highly visable.

The fact the race has been described as 'hunger games on wheels' is pretty worrying, I don't see a huge distinction between this and long distance lorry driving, at least the bike is a lot less likely to cause any damage.

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rct | 6 years ago
8 likes

Victim blaming already.  

Avatar
brooksby replied to rct | 6 years ago
7 likes

rct wrote:

Victim blaming already.  

Australians. What did you imagine they were going to say...?

Avatar
antigee replied to brooksby | 6 years ago
4 likes

brooksby wrote:

rct wrote:

Victim blaming already.  

Australians. What did you imagine they were going to say...?

one hell of a lot more if this had been an Australian citizen killed on a road in another country - this looks like local roads for local commuters, local police defend local driver ....you'd be mad to ride a push bike on there,  drive at the limit, don't expect anything to slow for  you, cyclist got what was coming

 

 

Avatar
joules1975 replied to rct | 6 years ago
1 like

rct wrote:

Victim blaming already.  

And it would seem people are rather quick to jump in and claim 'victim blaming' too, and all too often with little actual insight in whatever case they are commenting on.

Can we wait for the inquest results, and I'd also be very interested to hear what Mike Hall's partner (Anna, if my memory serves me) thinks after the conclusion, given she is attending.

Avatar
hughsain replied to joules1975 | 6 years ago
5 likes

joules1975 wrote:

rct wrote:

Victim blaming already.  

And it would seem people are rather quick to jump in and claim 'victim blaming' too, and all too often with little actual insight in whatever case they are commenting on.

Can we wait for the inquest results, and I'd also be very interested to hear what Mike Hall's partner (Anna, if my memory serves me) thinks after the conclusion, given she is attending.

 

Agreed we should be a little less hasty, but she's already expressed her concern about the direction this inquest seems to be heading:

"She has supported a statement ahead of the inquest by advocacy group Australian Cycling Alliance that Hall's GPS tracker showed he appeared to have rested sufficiently on the previous two nights and a video showed his lights were "sufficiently bright" before the collision.

Ms Haslock is concerned about how Hall and this form of racing are represented at the inquest.

"Anybody who knew Mike knows he was very capable, very experienced, very intelligent, very aware of risks and very capable of managing risks," she says. "So having anybody who didn't know Mike maybe [suggesting he was] reckless or anything like that would be unjust. It's important for me to be able to say that if I need to."

Ms Haslock has no concerns about the organisation of the Indian Pacific Wheel Race – a test of endurance that involved riders buying food and supplies along the route and grabbing short bursts of sleep, often camping beside the road, before getting back on the bike."

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