More snivelling cowards

Shamelessly nicked from the Gold Coast Bulletin website a few moments ago, read through the article and tell me exactly why they didn't go "in the van" regardless:

Gutter abuse for hurt cyclist
19Jul05

HOONS heckled a triathlete after he was knocked from his bike and lay semi-conscious in the gutter at Main Beach on Saturday evening.

As Adam Croft lay injured on the side of the road after being hit by a car, teenage boys sprayed him with a tirade of abuse.They called him a 'weak (expletive)' and swore at off-duty lifeguards who rushed to the scene to provide first aid.

The accident, which came a year after Croft's stepmother was hit and killed by a bus while cycling, has left the 35-year-old physically and emotionally gutted.

Cars hitting cyclists on Gold Coast roads has become so common that many incidents are not reported. These include a female cyclist who was struck by a car at Broadbeach at the weekend.

Adam Croft was completing the final stages of a 140km bike ride along Macarthur Parade on Saturday when the young driver of a hotted-up white Toyota Soarer ran into him just before 5pm.

As his body smashed into the bonnet, his head hit the windscreen, and he was thrown to the bitumen, Mr Croft thought he was about to die.

The 19-year-old female driver whose car struck Mr Croft was travelling with another girl along the popular hooning strip in the Soarer, an imported Japanese car favoured for its low cost and high-performance engine.

Witnesses said the car had a large aerodynamic rear wing and a 'Playgirl' sticker on the bonnet. Croft said he heard and saw the teenage boys, who were allegedly travelling with the girls in a different brown Soarer, stand around him and call him names. "I could hear them saying things like 'get up you weak (expletive), there's nothing wrong with you' and then they were swearing at the lifeguards who had rushed over to help me," he said. "It made me sick ... and I have lost my faith in human nature.

"I just can't believe that in a situation like that people would do something so horrible."

It is a long-standing tradition for car enthusiasts to take to The Esplanade on a Friday and Saturday night and drive 'the loop' through Main Beach and Surfers Paradise.

In the past, police have closed off some streets during the evenings at weekends.

Croft, of Broadbeach, said he was 4km from finishing when the driver made a turn into the Southport Surf Life Saving Club car park. Her car collided with Croft, throwing him from his $6500 bike and into the gutter. Witnesses rushed to the scene and an ambulance was called. The youths continued their foul-mouthed attack on Croft even as he was being treated by ambulance officers. A witness said a police officer eventually told them: "If you don't shut up, you are going in the back of the van."

Croft was taken to Gold Coast Hospital with neck, shoulder, knee and back injuries.He has been forced to take sick leave from his job and is unsure whether the injuries will have a long-term effect on his career. Croft, a Gold Coast City Council lifeguard, was training for the Yeppoon Half Ironman to be held on August 14. He will not be able to compete in the event.

"Other than my job, bike-riding was my passion. I guess my riding and work (future) will depend on what the MRI scans say next week," he said. It has been a horror year for Croft, who is still grieving over the death of his stepmother and professional triathlete Penny Croft. Mrs Croft, 54, was killed in March 2003 after a bus hit her bike while she was training along the Mount Cotton Road. An inquest on Mrs Croft took place in Brisbane two weeks ago and the findings will be delivered at a later date.

"It's been such a tough year and I guess after this happened to me I just wanted to tell people that cyclists have the same rights as cars on the roads," said Adam Croft. "I saw the car out of the corner of my eye, but I did not have time to even think about it.

"The vehicle failed to give way and the car hit my front wheel. "I was flung over the handlebars and on to the bonnet.

"The car ended up 15m down the road, where I fell off ... "When my dad (Ron) heard he went into shock. He thought 'not again'.

"On the Gold Coast, especially along that beach stretch on the weekend, there are many riders and I think people forget or become complacent on the roads.

"I was in the bike lane, obeying all the rules, and look what happened.

"I have been riding for 20 years and this is the first time I have ever had an accident, but in light of what happened with Penny, and Luke Harrop a few years back, I think people need another reminder to look out for us."

Triathlete Luke Harrop was killed in 2002 while he was training. He was riding along Bermuda Street when a female driver ploughed into him, flinging him from his bike. "It's only a matter of time before someone else gets killed," said Adam Croft.

******

I suppose on reflection, I would have approached that situation differently, sounds like a classic left-hook to me -- it might have been better to have moved out of the bike lane at that point, and I suppose that's the lesson we all need to learn from that situation. That said, it doesn't make this sort of behaviour any more excusable. Of course, the inevitable question now is what will be done about it. I'd say the most likely answer is going to be "absolutely nothing". Heck, if a police officer can stand there and watch the assailants shout abuse at their victim, it sends a clear message about the mentality society has toward incidents of this nature.