Police are seeking witnesses after a crash on Polson Hill Drive, Palmerston North on Friday afternoon.
At around 1:40pm, Police were alerted to a crash involving a cyclist.
The cyclist is currently in a critical condition in Wellington Hospital.
Police would like to hear from anyone who saw the crash, or has any CCTV or dashcam footage from around the area at the time of the incident.
“In particular, we would like to identify and speak to the driver of a white SUV that assisted the victim by providing first aid before emergency services arrived.
“If this is you, or you have any information in relation to the crash, please contact Police on 105, either over the phone or online, and reference file number 250411/3102.”
Image credit: Pietro De Grandi
Polson Hill Drive is a rural 2-lane road with no cycle lane. I pass thru there every couple of months.
I see a LOT of cyclists out on the roads with posted speeds of 80, 100, etc. and they really shouldn’t be there in that type of environment.
Problem is, many cyclists don’t move over to the left far enough for a vehicle to get by. Traffic has to wait for the oncoming traffic to clear before trying to pass a cyclist from the need to encroach into the opposite lane, as the cyclist(s) either ride in the vehicle’s lane via encroachment to the left, OR- they ride abreast of each other when in a group.
And IF there is a cycle lane, they oftentimes straddle on the far right of that lane, and encroach on passing traffic, while their spandex bike suits present a grotesque distraction for drivers.
When one looks around at the wide footpaths that are almost always vacant, that is where the cyclists belong, especially in urban / suburban traffic areas, and not encroaching in the lanes of passing traffic.
Whenever I pull out of my driveway in North Shore, I always pull out s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully, as skaters, scooters and occasional bikes use the footpath. It gives then time to see me. I don’t mind doing that extra bit of caution, as at least they are all off of the main roads causing more problems in the congested Auckland traffic.