Strava removes leaderboard on descent in Bath where four were killed in lorry crash

Strava has removed the leaderboard for a descent in Bath on a road where four people lost their lives in a crash in 2015 involving a lorry with defective brakes. Two men convicted of manslaughter in connection with that incident are due to be sentenced today.

The ride-sharing network took the action after local newspaper the Bath Chronicle contacted it to express concerns about riders averaging speeds of nearly 48 miles an hour while coming down Lansdown Hill, the site of the tragedy in February 2015.

The segment, called Fast Descent and now hidden from public view, is 1.1 kilometres long with an average downhill gradient of 11 per cent. It is similar to the segment pictured above, Lansdown Lane Descent, which according to Strava has been “flagged as hazardous.”

It runs from close to the junction of Lansdown Road and downhill into Upper Weston, where nearly two years ago lorry driver Phillip Potter, aged 20, lost control of the heavily-laden Scania truck he was driving due to its brakes being poorly serviced.

Four-year-old Mitzi Steady was killed instantly when the lorry struck her. The child’s grandmother sustained serious injuries. Three occupants of a car – Robert Parker, aged 59, Philip Allen, 52, and Stephen Vaughan, 34 – were also killed.

Mr Potter, who had only been working for the haulage firm for a few days when the fatal crash happened, stood trial at Bristol Crown Court late last year on charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

However, he was cleared after telling the court he would never have got behind the wheel of the lorry had he known the brakes were defective.

Matthew Gordon, 30, the boss of the haulage firm he was working for, and mechanic Peter Wood, 55, were each convicted of four counts of manslaughter through gross negligence.

Today, Gordon was sentenced to seven years and six months in jail, while Wood was handed a prison term of five years and three months.

It’s therefore understandable why there is heightened sensitivity about road safety, given the location, and police have been targeting motorists who ignore width restrictions there, or break the speed limit.

The Bath Chronicle reports that prior to the Strava leaderboard being taken down, the fastest descent was undertaken at an average speed of 47.9mph.

The top 20 riders all averaged 41mph or faster, although the speed limit on half of the stretch of road is 20mph.

While cyclists cannot be prosecuted or fined for speeding, many would see riding at more than twice the speed limit as lacking consideration for others; indeed, Strava data shows that most riders who share their data on the network take the descent much more slowly, at an average speed of 17mph.

Strava told the Bath Chronicle: "We believe that it's critical for cyclists, runners and pedestrians to have respect for one another.

"If a member of Strava's athlete community feels that an entire segment is hazardous, the segment can be flagged. When this happens, all competitive aspects of the segment are removed, including the leaderboard.

"We encourage good behaviour within our community and hope our users act within the limits of the law and use common sense. That said, athletes are responsible for their own safety and the safety of those around them when they are riding or running.

"Our Stand With Us campaign outlines a code of conduct we expect all athletes who use Strava to follow. It's about respecting your own safety, that of those around you, and having the knowledge and common sense to follow the rules of the road.

"From a product perspective, we do not award achievements or permit segment goals for hazardous or downhill segments. Leaderboards on hazardous segments are hidden by default."

Strava has in the past removed leaderboards on flagged segments on locations such as the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, or the Regent’s Canal in London.

While the descent of Lansdown Crescent differs from those in that it is on a public highway, it does bring to mind two stories we have covered here on road.cc involving cyclists chasing the fastest time – or KOM – on a downhill stretch of road.

Both took place in California. William ‘Kim’ Flint died in 2010 when he lost control of his bike trying to regain his KOM on the descent of Grizzly Peak in the hills above Berkeley.

In 2013, San Francisco cyclist Chris Bucchere pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter relating to an incident the previous year in which he fatally injured a pedestrian as he rode through a red light at a busy intersection while trying to beat his own speed there.