A shocking video shows the moment a hit and run driver ploughs into a cyclist at a roundabout.
The rider said he still cannot understand how the motorist could just drive away after the high speed collision.
Yorkshire Live spoke to Mr Hague, 48, who said: “I was commuting to work, and one minute I was riding normal, the next thing a young lady was picking me up from the road.
“I went into the roundabout and noticed the car on my left, but that’s all I have, to be honest. Unfortunately, I don’t remember anything else.
“I banged up my right elbow, right knee, one my calves. Thankfully it’s just bruises, but I think I was really lucky considering the driver didn’t even stop; they drove right into me.”
"The fact that he didn’t even stop and look up how I’m doing really annoys me. The driver had no interest in my welfare. The video didn’t pick it up, but the car was travelling at a high speed.
“You are not telling me you can’t see or feel a fully grown man on a bike coming in the roundabout. I’m sorry, but that’s just can’t be true.
“I’m really angry, sad and disappointed at the same time. I’m disappointed in the driver, as a human being. One thing is sure that had I done something like that, I [wouldn't have] been able to drive away.”
Mr Hague, an experienced cyclist, added: “There are some near misses every single day, but that’s it.
"I cycle thousands of miles a year, so I know what I’m doing, but car drivers sometimes just don’t pay attention.”
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said they were trying to trace the hit-and-run driver.
She said: “Police were called at around 7am on Monday 15 February to reports of a road traffic collision at West Bar Roundabout, Sheffield.
“It is reported that a cyclist was hit by a car, which then failed to stop and continued in the direction of Sheffield Parkway. The cyclist suffered minor injuries in the collision.
“Police are appealing for anyone who may have information about the collision to come forward."
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18 month ban, 1500 fine + 1500 victim costs (to go direct to victim) + name and shame in local news media. That would be my sentence for that shit.
According to the police there may not have even been a driver.
“It is reported that a cyclist was hit by a car, which then failed to stop and continued in the direction of Sheffield Parkway. The cyclist suffered minor injuries in the collision."
“Police are appealing for anyone who may have information about the collision to come forward."
It was the car that did it....no metion of the police even looking for a drvier!
I think that sums up what the police think of it. *Which is shocking!
It looks like one of those constant speed, constant angle scenarios where the cyclist is continuously hidden behind the A pillar and the driver doesn't move his head so thinks the road is clear.
No, I'm not making excuses, just suggesting a reason for the driver not seeing the cyclist.
Doesn't explain the "Hit him then just kept on driving" bit of it, though...
Yep, 2-3 seconds in and there is no way the cyclist is in the A frame as he is almost sprawled over the bonnet.
There is an excellent video about the constant speed/angle issue linked in the twitter feed:
https://youtu.be/SYeeTvitvFU
Roundabouts normally have curved entry roads so that drivers have to slow down and also alter the angle cast by their A-pillar, either of which would prevent the issue. This one has a straight entry. Unlike the location in the video, there is no excuse for not using other measures to force drivers to slow down.
I'm pretty sure you see the driver swerve right at the last moment, so the driver had to be aware of the incident.
Hmmm. Very doubtful given the driver did not stop.
More likely the driver was drunk or otherwise intoxicated. That may explain both the collision and the subsequent failure to stop. If so, the driver has now probably successfully avoided a DUI prosecution.
Onsofar as i can tell from this, not only does the speed of the car not change, but there's no flash of brake lights either, so the driver clearly had no intention of slowing whatsoever.
Assuming the driver is prosecuted, what's to stop a successful defence of, "It was dark and difficult to see, never saw him, thought I'd hit a bin bag or sack of potatoes. He must have come out of nowhere. Members of the jury, here but for the grace of God go you."
Plus, "I need a car to care for my elderly hampster"
How could I forget, the ace card?! I need my car, therefore I am innocent.
You'd hope that anyone viewing the video would conclude that the standard of driving displayed was below that expected of a competent and careful driver. However, this is the first comment below the linked article:
sitwell cycling club
"Needs substantial work to his bike though. New seat. Wheel. Paintjob."
Can we please trace the driver before finding excuses for them?
I hope the police are giving this due attention. With only a very slight difference, this could have been an investigation into a death.
Best wishes to Chris for a full and speedy recovery, and has he considered buying a lottery ticket?
He probably shouldn't, he's used up his good luck quota for a while!
Didn' think autonomous vehicles were allowed on the roads yet?
I had similar on my commute to work back in 2017. Driver pulled out straight in front of me, I collided with his rear wheel panel and he didn't even brake with the noise of the collision. Luckily for me, the collision flung the go pro camera lens on my handlebars straight onto the Reg plate.
Suprised the camera footage was found, released and tweeted out within 3 days of the accident though? Did the Police give it to the cyclist?
No, Chris found that himself and passed it on to his club to spread awareness.
As you can see the VRM of the car isn't legible on this so officers have been looking for other footage and sources to identify it. I spoke to Chris on Friday after someone on his club alerted me to the incident. Its a shocking bit of driving and we hope to be speaking to the driver soon.
I did wonder on that. Seemed too fast for the Police to do. (Remembering cyclist knocked off in London being asked to gather video evidence....)
Inspector Smith, you are the first member of the force that I have seen comment on these pages in a professional capacity regarding an incident. Thank you very much for taking this seriously.
Please do not let this drop. As cyclists we are subject to this level of negligence and sheer disregard for our lives on a weekly or even daily basis, and it is only luck that this type of incident isn't more frequent.
This individual has demonstrated they are not fit to drive, are a risk to the public at large, and need to be brought to justice.
I wish you good hunting
I wholeheartedly agree and welcome Inspector Smith to the site.
I think at times we can see the police in opposition to ourselves as cyclists due to a pattern of ongoing leniency shown to dangerous and innattentive drivers, however I believe there would be a significant benefit to having an ongoing dialogue with the police. I hope the Inspector sticks around and gives his opinions on disc brakes and the super tuck position!
You forgot the helmet debate...
Or deliberately omitted it...
Yeah - I'm not touching that one.
Disc brakes - I like them but I'm not a convert. I had a disc brake failure a while back that could have gone badly (hydraulics freezing).
Top tube descending - it's not the end of the world, but does that mean the Pantani "hang off the back of the bike" is still in play? Should there be a "bum on seat rule?" What about droppper posts?
Supertuck over the handlebars seems more about imitation than risk as I haven't actually seen anyone crash at the pointy end of a race due to doing it. if spinaci bars (sp?) were banned because they take the riders hands away from the brakes there's at least merit in making something equivalent banned too.
Oh I see you were joking.... hmm
In news of the investigation we have a lead on a vehicle that we've allocated officers to today - hoping it's the right one. Watch this space.
How cold was it that the hydraulics froze?
After a quick google on cold weather hydraulics, it looks like mineral oil systems (e.g. Shimano) should be fine down to -20° and DOT systems can even go a bit colder. Maybe there was too much moisture in your hoses?
Edit: Just occurred to me that you might not have meant literally freezing.
It was about -3C with some additional windchill and the brakes decided they weren't going to work anymore on a sharp downhill near Ladybower. Cable actuated hydraulics rather than full hoses though so that might make a difference (the hydraulic part is much smaller and possibly was covered with snow)
NIPs? As in many other areas of policing the law is behind the tech. The idea of video evidence or helmet cams would have been unthinkable at the time the legislation was drafted -
I believe the purpose is to ensure that the accused is able to remember the offence and then come up with a reason - you'd be unlikely to remember a driving manoeuvre you completed three months ago and when the evidence that convicted you was likely to come from eye witnesses there was a degree of subjectivity that meant interviewing or obtaining an account from the accused would be beneficial.
Now though, you tend to find from video evidence alone sufficient evidence to prosecute or take action and whether the driver remembers it is pretty much irrelevant.
what I do find is that they make it very important to make quick decisions about what you intend to do and try and have a good process for getting NIPs issued quickly.
-3 shouldn't be too cold for hydraulics, so I bet you had air/moisture in the system that froze. A bit of bleeding from time to time would prevent that most likely.
I'm putting this here inappropriately! In the long cold spell after Christmas, I suffered cable disc brake failure on 2 separate evenings on the rear. It just wouldn't work! The front still worked fine, and the rear worked again at home after warming up. Presumably just the longer length freezing between inner and outer?
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