Jersey coroner says foot stuck in clipless pedal led to cyclist's death

Right coming at this from a completely different angle.

Blokey gets some new equpiment.
Does not learn how to use it properly.
Tells someone it's dangerous but continue to use it.
Possibly as a result of using said item, does look where he's going.
Hits a lamppost and goes under the wheels of a van.

That's 7, seven, steps from possible cause to effect. The first four steps are the blokes fault, he should not have bought the pedals, should not have used them without properly learning. Should not have used them until he felt competant enough. Should not have carried on using them if he felt the were unsafe...... As for the link between the pedals and not looking, er wtf!

AND the coronor writes to Shimano?
Fing hell next he'll be writing to god, allah, buddah, mother nature and the rest complaining about how dangerous it is for humans to stop breathing as it causes death.

I wonder if the coroner is aware of the tens of thousands of such pedals being used all around the world or maybe the millions of miles they are used. will he be also writing to messers Ford, Volvo, Honda and so on about how dangerous their products are. How about Mr M Gun or N Bomb? Or maybe Mr L Ampost for placing his products in the way.

So it's Shimano's fault he hit a lamp post, when will people take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others. Funny how I have used SPD's to fly downhills at 40mph off road and I'm still alive and I even managed to miss trees whilst threading my way through them for the past 2 decades.

I even manage to not hit lamp posts on the road bike with these ever so dangerous pedals.

How did he manage to hit a lamp post if he was cycling in the road?

Considering the area, I suspect he was having a nice slow pavement cycle, hit a lamp post, got confused by the pedals, and fell over into the road. It could happen to anyone, really.

I find this story very worrying. Lawyers have already ensured that my quick releases are no longer quick to release. Am I now going to have to ride flat pedals as well?

I asked elsewhere about the lamppost and it was suggested he was riding on the pavement. That the van happened to drive past at the wrong moment.

Which then raises the question of would he have had an accident if he had actually been doing as he was meant to and riding on the road, or was this a "cycle path" with furniture blocking it, in which case does the council have to accept some blame?

It seems to me the main cause of this tragic accident was colliding with a lamp post and hence losing balance, falling over and being hit by a van.

I am not sure the type of pedal would make much difference in this instance.

i do sympathise with Mr Blood and his family, but I have to say best of luck with Shimano, he is going to need it.

You have to say that if this was in the same direction part of the road a van has hit another road user form behind- therefore van at fault. If a car stopped suddenly for whatever reason, the car following would be responsible if it didn't stop in time. Collisions from behind are almost 100% the following drivers fault. If this was in effect a collision from behind resulting from the cyclist stopping due to falling over - then its just wrong on every level possible and more victim blaming.
But that said we don't have the full facts here do we.

there was nothing the vehicle’s driver could have done to avoid hitting the cyclist.

Highway Code Rule 126: "Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear."

If we're banning adverts because the person pictured in them was not following recommendations in the Highway Code, we should be prosecuting drivers for not following the recommendations.

PS: I don't work for Shimano.

What has Shimano to do with this? If you ride a bike you better damn make sure that you don't hit something when you turn your head!

You also dont just set off with a bike that is brand new and assume it will be like 'every other bike you have ever ridden'. Especially if you are a newbie to clipless pedals.

Tragic accident - but in total he has only himself to blame.

Thoughts are with the family!

Did Shimano own the van then; or just force the poor man to use the pedals before he was ready for busy roads?

A horrible thing to happen but hardly Shimano's responsibility.

How can you agree with KiwiMike.....READ THE BLOODY THING

He hit a lamp post, causing him to lose his balance and fall under a PASSING van.....i.e. A van that was on the OTHER side of the road, passing him in the opposite direction.

If the van was "passing" him (overtaking) that would have been made clear. He was not being overtaken, he fell into a van travelling the other way, so in this case, there was NOTHING the van driver could do.

In fact, if you go to the BBC site, it also states that Mr Blood fell between the front and rear wheels of the van. So it must have been in line with him, when he fell, give the van driver, not even a second to avoid anything.

“Your brain becomes a bit scrambled and to get your foot out of cleats you have got to think clearly.”

I've come off a few times and my feet come out of SPDs easily, without doing anything at all. And I have them at pretty much the highest tension.

Toe clips and straps in the old days were a different matter ...

I am sure it is well meaning but the deceased's dad and the coroner simply don't have a clue what they are on about.

Mr Blood was cycling with his cousin, Ruth, in St Helier and after turning to look at her, he hit a lamp post, causing him to lose his balance and fall under a passing van

So not looking where he was going and hitting the lampost caused the fall.
I agree with KiwiMike that it sounds like the van was too close.

The incident has nothing to do with clipless pedals.

I think there are two morals to this story.

1. If you're going to ride clipless, practice somewhere nice and quiet until you get comfortable getting in and out of them, and make sure you set the tension low to start with.

2. Concentrate on the road ahead if turning around to look at things makes you lose your balance and veer into lampposts.

Tragic accident? Yes. Shimano's fault? No.

Using SPD's for the first time on a road is a dangerous thing to do. I would always recommend practice in a quiet area first.

Sure Shimano are going to listen. Yes there are risks using clipless pedals but any shop selling them, along with the instructions should identify: -
-the risks,
-the correct method of fitting them including the release pressure adjustment.
-suggestions on practising before venturing out.

A 'light action' pedal my have been more suitable on this occasion.
I've fallen off stationary just once due to being clipped in.

I hope the coroner writes to the manufacturer of the lamp post as well to warn of the danger of installing street lights.

funny I came right out of my spds' when I go hit by a car without any problem at all, they were shimano too.

Horrible things happen. But we don't always need to find someone or something to blame.

no. No. NO. N-O.

"...causing him to lose his balance and fall under a passing van"

He did NOT 'fall under a passing van'. You cannot 'fall under' something. You fall over, then IT runs OVER you.

The van driver was following too close, did not react to another road user in front of him, and RAN HIM OVER.

Had the van driver been travelling at a safe distance behind, or been passing with 1.5m of space, or passing at an appropriate speed, then he would not have ran him over.

That's it. End of.