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Home / New Zealand

Waterfront bike death: the 'fall guy'

By Amelia Wade
NZ Herald·
2 Feb, 2012 04:30 PM5 mins to read

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A relieved Glenn Becker (right) leaves the Auckland District Court with his wife after a judge threw out the charges against him of causing the death of cyclist Jane Bishop. Photo / Greg Bowker

A relieved Glenn Becker (right) leaves the Auckland District Court with his wife after a judge threw out the charges against him of causing the death of cyclist Jane Bishop. Photo / Greg Bowker

The motorist cleared yesterday of charges over a cyclist's death was the "fall guy" for a "highly hazardous pinchpoint" on Auckland's Tamaki Drive, says a cycle lobby group.

Glenn Becker - who was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle causing death after cyclist Jane Mary Bishop swerved to avoid his open car door - wept as a judge threw the case out.

Judge Phil Gittos said Mr Becker, 35, "did all he could do in the circumstances, short of getting out on the passenger side".

Mr Becker wept and hugged his wife on hearing the judge's decision in the Auckland District Court.

A spokeswoman for the Cycle Action lobby group, Barbara Cuthbert, said Mr Becker "was the fall guy for the infrastructure - [Jane Bishop] was the victim".

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Mrs Cuthbert said her organisation had done an audit of Tamaki Drive for the old Auckland City Council in 2006 - four years before the accident - and concluded that carparking spaces at the Kelly Tarlton's bend created a "highly hazardous pinchpoint".

She said the council did not remove the spaces until two days after Ms Bishop, 27, was killed.

Mrs Cuthbert said she hoped the council would learn lessons from the crash and fix other cycling "pinchpoints".

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The council's transport chairman at the time, Ken Baguley, said last night: "In hindsight, maybe something could have been done, but that particular point was one of a number of narrow points on Tamaki Drive and seeing the court case, it looks like the accident could have occurred elsewhere along the road as well."

Mr Baguley said Tamaki Drive was an incredible asset to Auckland and extremely popular - but fraught with safety problems that presented a "quandary" to the council.

There were $35 million worth of improvements in the pipeline for the road, but in the end there was no physical solution.

"Everybody is going to have to learn that if you're going to open a door, you have to look back, cyclists have to wear high-vis gear, and motorists give a metre or two when they pass cyclists," Mr Baguley said.

Discover more

Opinion

Herald on Sunday Editorial: Let's take cycleways seriously

04 Feb 04:30 PM
New Zealand

'The bike path is shite' -Tamaki Drive's deadly course (+ crash map)

17 Feb 04:30 PM

Current transport committee chairman Mike Lee said that having ridden around Auckland on a bicycle, "you do take your life in your hands. What we need in Auckland is quite separate cycle lanes".

He said the council had put up signs around the busy intersection of Tamaki Drive and Ngapipi Rd, installed more cycle lanes and started an "education campaign".

Auckland Transport said it was looking at widening the footpath by building a boardwalk for cyclists and pedestrians.

Judge Gittos said Mr Becker did everything he could to get out of his car safely in rush-hour traffic, short of climbing out the passenger door.

Ms Bishop died after hitting him and his car door, then falling under a truck.

Judge Gittos said the police had failed to prove that Mr Becker was at fault when he parked and got out of his car to go fishing.

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He said Mr Becker took the "proper steps" of looking behind him and Ms Bishop could have been hidden by other parked cars or the truck that ran over her.

Judge Gittos said Ms Bishop might also have not seen Mr Becker. "Essentially, her action of applying the brakes suddenly caused her to lose control and fall with such tragic consequences."

He said cyclists were subject to the same road rules as cars and should not overtake vehicles on the left, although it was common.

"The practice presents hazards to cyclists and persons getting in and out of vehicles."

He said Mr Becker was aware of potential hazards and that could be seen by the way he opened his door only part of the way and slid out of his car.

Outside court, Mr Becker was asked how the weight of the accident had been for him. He answered: "It's still there."

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His lawyer, Kevin Brosnahan, said his client and his family were relieved at the decision. "His thoughts and feelings go out to Ms Bishop's friends and family."

Ms Bishop's friend of 10 years, Laura O'Keefe, said she held no grudges. "I think there were a lot of factors at play when the accident happened - it was a tragedy, but there were too many things going on at that time."

Mrs O'Keefe met Ms Bishop at King's College London while they were both studying to be nurses.

In October 2007, Mrs O'Keefe moved to Auckland with her husband and a month later, Ms Bishop came on a visit and fell in love with the country. She migrated in March 2010 - eight months before she was killed.

Mrs O'Keefe, who worked with Ms Bishop at CityMed Doctors, said it was a relief that 15 months after her friend's death, the case was finally over.

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