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news
Ipswich Road, Colchester (Google Maps)“I am just grateful they’re alive”: Police criticised for not attending scene after young family ‘catapulted’ off cargo bike by motorist
The mother of two children who were struck by a motorist while travelling with their father in a cargo bike, ‘catapulting’ them into oncoming traffic, has questioned why police did not attend the scene of the “shocking” collision, despite being called.
Triumph Okojie was riding an e-cargo bike with his two children, aged five and two, when they were hit by a driver at a roundabout on Ipswich Road, Colchester, on Saturday 17 December at around 6.30pm, the Daily Gazette reports.
The family, who were cycling to Tesco at the time of the incident, were thrown from the bike in the collision, hitting their heads on the road. The driver remained at the scene and no serious injuries were reported.
> Council slaps nuisance notice on family cargo bike parked on pavement
Triumph’s wife Cristiana told the Daily Gazette that she is “grateful” that her husband and children are still alive, but that the crash has left the family “scared” and shaken.
“The whole weight of the bike fell on my husband as he was thrown off of it. They fell with their heads hitting the cement in the road,” she said.
“There are lots of light at this roundabout, so they saw the car coming directly at them. It was quite shocking.”
She continued: “The children are now scared and don’t want to go near a bike, my husband is the same. They are quite shocked.
“I was very scared when I heard what had happened. It was a very quick journey just to buy a few ingredients to finish our evening and set up our Christmas tree, but it turned out like this. I am just grateful they’re alive.”
The 33-year-old also expressed her concerns regarding the decision taken by Essex Police, despite being called in the wake of the collision, to not attend the scene.
However, a spokesperson for Essex Police explained to the Daily Gazette that the incident was not attended because there were no serious injuries reported and that the road in question was clear of any obstruction.
The spokesperson added that the Okojies were advised to fill out an online report.
“I am grateful to the people from the pub who came to help and to the driver who stopped. She was visibly shaken too,” says Mrs Okojie.
"We also thank the Colchester ECargo Bike Delivery Project for their help following this incident.
“We are responsible parents and had the proper protective gear on our children which turned out to be a good thing.”
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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31 comments
This is a very dangerous high traffic roundabout, though the central island is small. It is the Highwoods roundabout in Colchester near a pub called the Rovers Tye, postcode CO4 9BA. My aunt lived on Highwoods for her latter years back in the 90s and noughties.
Since the housing areas are mainly 20-25 years old, there is likely very little safe infra. Only one split path on two arms. The crossings are zebras or offset pelicans.
In the immediate area there are thousands of houses, a pub (90 parking spaces), a Tesco (500 parking spaces and a petrol station), a Primary School, a very active Community Centre, and a very active parish church. Something like 300 cyclists per day I think; should be much higher.
It shows everything which is worst about UK roundabout design. The four roads coming in seem to be 10k, 10k, 10k and 20k daily vehicle movements. Here is CrashMap - lots of bike casualties since 2000 (3 serious), and only a couple of peds.
Whole thing needs a complete redesign, and infra into the area. There's space by the look of it - the space in the Highways Space is somewhat larger than Fendon Road and the angles better, though the traffic is rather higher. Would need to learn from Fendon Road as that still has quite a few cyclist incidents.
Anyone from Colchester Cycling here?
I doubt anyone wants ecc to redesign anything.
Biggest problem is 190k population, massive new builds but little infrastructure change.
Hoping for ECC to decide on 2 major schemes, but a lot of local resistance.
Google crouch street scheme to see the push back from locals on a ped, cyclist, open space scheme.
But redesign is what they will have to do if they want growth in cycling. All of those 4 roads are over the 6000+ daily traffic level and need segregated cycletracks, which would be required for plenty of commuting, and it would also need a local quietways type network which may sort-of-exist already for going to school etc.
I had a look at the Colchester consultation, and it looks like general approval based on the overall numbers with some specific concerns around the Crouch Street consultation (I hvae not looked at others in detail).
To me the concerns sound like the RC Church on Chiswick High Road who switched around to supporting the new cycle track once their concerns had been considered.
But then I tend to optimism.
at least theyre doing something, in a few days time it will be 2 years since Suffolk CC published their "phase2" ATF schemes, I dont think any of them have gone any further than powerpoint presentations, or if they have they were so meaningless to begin with (extra cycle racks, new signs, quiet lanes that kind of low level stuff) theyve had no material impact.
and now because theyre working on some devolution deal with the government, a provisional area-wide local transport plan might be delivered by March 2024, for the newly elected mayor to agree, by which time the next spending review will be in progress.
maybe something will happen post 2025...
General Election in 2024, so it will all start again. Maybe.
But redesign is what they will have to do if they want growth in cycling
There's your answer - there is a difference between what they say they want and the truth
I personally don't think the vehicle types made a difference. The highway code and road laws are a mess at traffic islands. The only MUST etc is listed for not going over a mini island markings and even the police do that. All the rest are "should" instructions so unless there are examples of something else, Police don't usually want to know* and most insurances will cover knock for knock. Even entering the island is normally a boundary marking and not a Giveway which would mean MUST giveway.
*When I got knocked off, the Police perked up when I mentioned the driver didn't stop as they could do something against that, they then continued with Due Care and Attention based off the initial "Not Stopping".
The comments in the newspaper article are illuminating to say the least.
Let me guess: some rubbish about 'the roads' being too dangerous for cyclists?
Rather than their being dangerous because some motorists being utterly selfish and/or incompetent?
Basically my previous post.
Well there are those obviously, but there is someone also saying they were a passenger in the actual car involved in the crash, claiming the car ahead of them went, they looked right saw nothing, so went themselves and then clipped the rear wheel of the bike, so an A pillar converging line type crash.
A most unlikely, probably impossible scenario. I can't see how the previous car could have gone and not hit the bike if the second car hit the rear wheel of the bike; doesn't make sense.
Obviously one of those stealth bikes, passed right in front of the headlights and windscreen but totally invisible to both driver and passenger!
Should have been wearing hi viz.
Should have used the cycle lane.
Should not have used the road.
Should not have put his kids in danger.
Should not have been using a heavy ecargo bike.
One way if demonstrating the skill level of drivers.
Tickbox justice.
It's pretty clear that most police forces are just walking excuse books.
Essex Police (like most forces) were cut back viciously 12 years ago. At one stage there were only two traffic police cars covering the whole of Essex at night. However that is no excuse, the police should have attended.
They are currently at a record number of officers with another 200-300 due to be added in the next 12 months.
Two ? Luxury, try one for all of Suffolk & Norfolk. Infact Operation Snap here is warning of delays dealing with submissions due to "operational requirements within the festive period" I dont think unless you get hit or end up in hospital theyll be doing much reviewing of footage for two weeks. So stay safe on the roads.
Complete rubbish. Don't perpetuate lies and aid their excuses
The bike was hit by a car on a roundabout. How the fuck does a driver not see a 7ft x2ft object with 3 people on board, and why don't the police attend to see if a driving offence has been committed? Driving without due care and attention seems to be an obvious one. Oh, of course..it was only cyclists that were the victims.
Was that allegation made? Probably not. Were there witnesses who stopped at the scene? Frustrating as it is, the police are not well enough resources to charge about on blue lights, with the increased risk that involves, on the off chance that a road traffic offence may have been committed and there may be some evidence.
That said Essex Police are particularly crap. My wife witnessed a hit and run (well a get out and walk off) etc the other morning. Waited for the police with a description and offered CCTV from her work which caught the whole thing. Police not interested "Oh, we don't do that any more, we just write to the registered keeper, if there is one held".
Well enough resourced?
What by record numbers of police?
https://www.statista.com/statistics/303963/uk-police-officer-numbers/
Don't give them excuses
Why would blue lights and police racing to the scene be required? They could send whoever was nearest at normal and safe driving speed. If the bicycle was on the roundabout and the driver joined from an entry point and hit them, then it's a clear case of incompetence and driving without due care and attention.
I've had people collide with me driving a large van, even a truck, at a roundabout.. no chance I'd put my kids at risk like that.
So would you never take your kids in a vehicle on the motorway, or on a plane trip, or to the beach where they could have a swim in the sea, etc?
The message here from Essex Police is - if a car hits you, DO NOT MOVE. Block the road. Insist on them attending, so the collision can be properly recorded, and statements taken. For insurance, at least.
Because if you ‘fill in a form online’, guaranteed nothing will happen.
Absolutely correct, don't move; play possum, say your arm, leg, nose ....finger nail.... hurts, It's the only way you'll get the boys in blue to turn up. As KiwiM says ....the incident will then be correctly recorded. That accident doesn't sound so great.
This, unfortunately, is the nadir of modern life;
'The spokesperson added that the Okojies were advised to fill out an online report'
Given that in a car/cyclist collision, it is easy to drag the bicycle out of the road, it should not be a reason for not attending if the road is not blocked when a cyclist is knocked off. Whatever happened to the principle of protecting the most vulnerable?
I just wonder if the police would have attended if a cyclist had knocked down a pedestrian?
Depends if the road was obstructed, obviously...
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