News

Good morning everyone,

I would like to highlight a recent incident that occurred within Centennial Park that needs to be disseminated to your wider club members in a hope to change rider behaviours before a serious accident occurs. This is especially relevant to your club members who train Tuesday and Thursdays in the unofficial peloton.

Over the last few years, motor vehicle safety features have been improving to the point where many now have autonomous features. This includes the ability of the vehicle to detect an imminent collision and to apply the vehicle brakes without input from the driver. The above features are standard on the base model vehicles currently in use within the Centennial Park vehicle fleet.

Recently one of our Ford Ranger utility vehicles was being driven around Grand Drive when it was overtaken on all sides by cyclists riding in the peloton. As the lead cyclists cut back in front of the vehicle the collision avoidance features of the vehicle were triggered. As more cyclists completed this manoeuvre the vehicles brakes were applied autonomously.

As you can imagine for a vehicle to suddenly brake whilst being overtaken by cyclists creates a very real risk of collision for the remaining riders who are directly behind the vehicle, travelling at speed and relying on the vehicle to maintain a steady speed.

I would appreciate it if this information and safety warning could be disseminated through your networks and clubs. Obviously as more vehicles are fitted with this safety feature the chance of a similar incident occurring increases.

regards