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Death of student on charity bike ride leads to calls for better warning signs Warning sign

Death of student on charity bike ride leads to calls for better warning signs

A senior coroner called the signage on the Downs Link 'inadequate' ...
by Will Bolton
Sat, Jun 05, 2021 11:41
9

The tragic death of a university student who was taking part in a charity bike ride has led to calls for better warning signs on parts of the Downs Link. 

University student Pathushan Sutharsan, 20, sadly crashed into the path of a lorry during the ride after trying to brake on a steep section of gravel track.

A coroner warned that the signs in place on the route alerting riders to the 'immediacy' of the A road were 'inadequate'. 

Mr Sutharsan, from Morden in Surrey, was cycling on the stretch of the Downs Link from Cranleigh towards Southwater when he went down a steep forest track leading to a junction with the A281 near Rudgwick, an inquest heard.

Mr Sutharsan, was hit by the driver of a tipper truck after he tried to brake when approaching the road but was unable to stop in time. 

Mr Sutharsan, an architecture student at University of Brighton, had been taking part in a 120km ride from London to Brighton to raise money for people affected by the war in Yemen, The West Sussex County Times report.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield said: “As he got close to the A281 it appears that he braked but lost control of his bike probably caused by the gravel surface on the track.

“This caused him to fall from his bike with a forward momentum pushing him onto the road directly into the path of a heavy goods vehicle being driven on the A281. 

“The signage in place at the time of this accident to warn users on the Downs link of the immediacy of a major A road was inadequate.” 

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Downs Link
Sussex
Pathushan Sutharsan

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9 comments

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Muddy Ford | 3 years ago
0 likes

I've done the BHF London to Brighton off road event a few times, though I don't remember this junction. I do remember BHF event support were very thorough and put attendents at dangerous points to warn cyclists, such as a drop off in the middle of the woods. Maybe this wasn't the BHF event.

Avatar
zero_trooper | 3 years ago
1 like

Is the Downs Link a permanent cycle route? A 'steep forest track' with a gravel surface, doesn't sound like great infrastructure.

Also, I took it the the Coroner was criticising the permanent signage and not the charity/sportive temp signs.

Whatever, still a sad story.

 

EDIT: Wikipedia is my friend https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs_Link

Avatar
David9694 replied to zero_trooper | 3 years ago
2 likes

Yes, it's an old railway track from Shoreham by Sea to Guildford, which I've ridden a couple of times.

It suffers from having had most of its bridges over roads removed, so you get these drops and climbs on to an off the route. 

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to David9694 | 3 years ago
1 like
David9694 wrote:

Yes, it's an old railway track from Shoreham by Sea to Guildford, which I've ridden a couple of times.

It suffers from having had most of its bridges over roads removed, so you get these drops and climbs on to an off the route. 

If these down ramps are so steep that stopping before the road is in doubt, then they should be tarmacced.

I wonder how many others have failed to stop before going into the road, but been lucky there was nothing coming.

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Kerans replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
1 like

As David9694 says the missing bridge at Rudgwick creates two of the steepest sections of the Downs Link; they're short but very steep and emerge directly onto a part of the A281 where most drivers are doing 50mph.

There are better signs now but it's very easy to miss the junction or see it late. The surface is loose and quite broken up and rutted due to lots of people having to brake on it.

I rode through not long after this happened and saw the flowers left by the side of the road. My sincere condonlences to the family of Pathushan Sutharsan.

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Tired of the tr... replied to Kerans | 3 years ago
0 likes

Is it this path?

https://goo.gl/maps/rQinKfh55d6GeHbe8

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
0 likes

From the descriptions of direction of travel etc, it could have been the path on the other side with the gates. Doesn't look as steep as the one you point to but also probably more misleading because of that. 

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Tired of the tr... replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
0 likes

Indeed I was not sure if I understood the description of direction of travel correctly. It's hard to identify such locations on Streetview or see how steep the paths are. One would really need the view from the path, not from the road, but Google ist quite car-focussed and many other paths are not even in it. (Openstreetmap is much better but doesn't have a view).

Avatar
ktache | 3 years ago
12 likes

My thoughts are with the family and friends of Pathushan Sutharsan.

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