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Cyclist critically injured after head-on crash with e-bike rider

Police appeal for witnesses after collision in Leeds city centre yesterday evening

A cyclist is in a critical condition in hospital following a crash with an e-bike rider in Leeds city centre yesterday evening.

The collision happened on the A61 East Street at 5.45pm on Thursday 21 April, say West Yorkshire Police.

Officers say that the 51-year-old cyclist, riding a black Boardman bike, and the e-bike rider, aged 19, collided after they rode towards each other from different directions on the pavement alongside the busy dual carriageway.

A photo published by Leeds Live in its report of the incident shows a section of the road, a major route into the city centre from the south east, cordoned off by police outside former textile mills that have been converted into apartment buildings, pictured above.

The cyclist was taken to hospital by ambulance and remains in a critical condition after sustaining serious injuries in the crash. The e-bike rider is said to have sustained a minor leg injury.

Police have asked anyone who witnessed the collision, or the circumstances leading up to it, to contact the Roads Policing Unit on 101 quoting log 1386 of April 21 or online at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/101livechat.

While the pavement where the collision has no specific signage indicating that it is a shared-use path where cycling is permitted, Google Street View imagery captured in July last year shows signs a couple of hundred metres away in either direction suggest that does form part of a designated cycle route in and out of the city centre.

In the results of a consultation into proposed cycling improvements in Leeds city centre published ty last year by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, a number of respondents called for safer provision for cyclists along the A61 corridor.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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18 comments

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wtjs | 1 year ago
0 likes

I am rarely in Blackpool because the cyclist-graveyard A586 has unavoidable sections, but I had to go 3 days ago. I saw a little b*****d on an illegal small-wheel electric scooter with a seat go from the road up onto the pavement to avoid the lights at a left turn. He then tore along the pavement and kept just ahead of me charging across side-roads- I was having trouble keeping up because of a hill and a nasty easterly headwind. The police must be seeing these all over the country, and doing nothing about them. Immediate confiscation and crushing with recycling is the obvious solution.

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nordog | 1 year ago
3 likes

Please don't blame the ebike blame the young teenager who was in control of it. I'm 77 plus years and I ride and ebike for over 8000 miles so far in the last three years at speeds from 16mph to 43mph on the open roads down many hills but in towns with other folks about I'm very cautious, even on the so-called cycle/walkways that walkers will not try to prevent accidents.

 

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Rendel Harris replied to nordog | 1 year ago
12 likes

nordog wrote:

Please don't blame the ebike blame the young teenager who was in control of it.

Actually let's not blame anybody yet, there's no indication from this report as to who was at fault: it could just as easily have been the non-powered rider, let's not assume the teenager was to blame.

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EddyBerckx replied to nordog | 1 year ago
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nordog wrote:

Please don't blame the ebike blame the young teenager who was in control of it. I'm 77 plus years and I ride and ebike for over 8000 miles so far in the last three years at speeds from 16mph to 43mph on the open roads down many hills but in towns with other folks about I'm very cautious, even on the so-called cycle/walkways that walkers will not try to prevent accidents.

 

43mph? Are you talking about going down a steep descent or is this a highly illegal ebike? (I've seen plenty of these on my commute...they often require no pedalling and are ridden exactly how you expect such a bike to be ridden...badly and without thought for others on the path/shared pavement . Not saying you are like this btw)

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BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP replied to EddyBerckx | 1 year ago
1 like

I agree - where does that 43mph come from? Even unassisted that's bloody fast. If it's assisted the rider should be taxed, insured and wear a helmet - as it's not an eBike it's a motorbike. 

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Rendel Harris replied to BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP | 1 year ago
1 like

I can easily do 40mph downhill on my Orbea Gain ebike, unassisted (power cuts out at 15mph), in fact I reckon if I took it out into big hills (I only use it for commuting) I could push my unassisted road bike PR of 56mph, it's about twice the weight of the road bike and a lot less twitchy...I think it's fairly clear from nordog's comment that he means he's hit 43 on a downhill on a legal ebike.

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NOtotheEU replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
1 like

Rendel Harris wrote:

I can easily do 40mph downhill on my Orbea Gain ebike, unassisted (power cuts out at 15mph), in fact I reckon if I took it out into big hills (I only use it for commuting) I could push my unassisted road bike PR of 56mph, it's about twice the weight of the road bike and a lot less twitchy...I think it's fairly clear from nordog's comment that he means he's hit 43 on a downhill on a legal ebike.

Impressive, i can barely crack 30mph down the longest steepest hill I know!  Although MTB gearing and my 6'5" frame probably don't help much. Going back up at top assisted speed (15mph) is just great though.

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Rendel Harris replied to NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
0 likes

NOtotheEU wrote:

Impressive, i can barely crack 30mph down the longest steepest hill I know!  Although MTB gearing and my 6'5" frame probably don't help much. Going back up at top assisted speed (15mph) is just great though.

I know, I don't usually use it for anything but commuting but sometimes if I have time in hand on the way home I might do a few ups and downs around Crystal Palace just for the fun of the descents, bit like having a personal ski lift, pulled up, bomb down! Definitely need a 50 or 52/11 gear to get through 50mph even on really steep hills.

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the little onion | 1 year ago
3 likes

Some context:

-the neighbouring roads are deadly - wide, fast, etc

-this road leads directly (i.e. the end of East Street leading into the junction with Crown Point Road) into a bi-directional segregated cycle lane (which is still under construction for other bits of the route, though finished at that point). 

Thus there are various sound reasons why there might be cyclists on the pavement, travelling in opposite directions.

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a1white | 1 year ago
3 likes

Nearly got hit by an e-bike rider (one of those ones with big chunky motorbike type wheels), on a busy cycle route, yesterday evening. He didn't slow down for the give-way junction and by the time I spotted him, he was having to do an emergency stop to avoid going into the side of me. From my experience, the majority of those big massive ebikes seem to be unrestricted (at least in London) and tear along at stupid speeds were it really isn't safe to do so.

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Rendel Harris replied to a1white | 1 year ago
7 likes

a1white wrote:

 From my experience, the majority of those big massive ebikes seem to be unrestricted (at least in London) and tear along at stupid speeds were it really isn't safe to do so.

And they are so obvious, it's not as if someone has tweaked a legal ebike, as you say, they're huge and the riders are often whacking along at 30mph plus with no pedal assist, so doubly illegal, and yet I've actually seen them overtaking police cars with no reaction. The police in London seem very zealous about stopping e-scooters, they need to be told to get after these as well I think. As someone who uses a (legal) ebike for the commute I'd be quite happy to be stopped every now and again for a quick check if it meant the illegals would be impounded, they're a real menace, especially in narrow two-way cycle lanes like Vauxhall Bridge where they tear down the middle.

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brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes

Some of those e-bikes can really shift: walking through Broadmead in Bristol today (shared-use busy pedestrian area, lots of shops) a food courier on a bike went hurtling through (and I do mean hurtling, I ride through there sometimes and I would be riding nowhere near the speed he was doing).  The entire central diamond of his bike was tightly wrapped up in silver duct tape, with a black box poking out with a button, so god only knows what was in there powering his ride...

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chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
7 likes

Processed cheese?

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
0 likes

Hmm - how many watts does a Dairylea* triangle produce? 

 

 

*Other processed spreadable cheeses are available...

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mdavidford replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
2 likes

Don't know about the power output, but the range is good - it'll last until the cows come home.

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chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
2 likes

Unless you puncture - although less likely when running tubeless.

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BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
3 likes

The 'big triangle' thing is the crap battery. The battery (though with the potential to self combust) is not the problem. The problem is these 'bikes' have throttles and hub motors that are not restricted. Hence the speeds and no pedalling. They are awful things. 

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Moist von Lipwig | 1 year ago
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https://fourpointmapping.sustrans.org.uk/westyorkshirecyclemap/westyorks...

looks from the leeds cycle map that the intended route is from South Accommodation Rd, to cross to bow street and loop round crossing back to Kirkgate (ish) and avoid east street.  although that may or may not be apparent on the ground or the place that was beng travelled to.

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