A hit-and-run motorist left a man in his 60s needing hospital treatment for minor injuries after he was in the collision at Rathbeggan, Co Meath on Saturday last. Gardai are now appealing for witnesses or dashcam footage.
(updated) The Gardai Press Office confirmed to IrishCycle.com that the cyclist involved was a man in his 60s.
The appeal for witnesses was posted to the official Garda Meath Crime Prevention page on Facebook.
Gardai said: “On Saturday, 28th January at approximately 5.10am, a male cyclist was travelling towards Dublin at Rathbeggan Village opposite Rathbeggan National School where he was struck by an unknown vehicle that failed to remain at the scene. The cyclist was subsequently treated for minor injuries in hospital.”
“Gardaí are now seeking witnesses or dashcam footage from any persons that travelled in the Rathbeggan area between 4.30am and 5.30am on Saturday 28th January to contact Dunshaughlin Garda Station on 01-8258600 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111,” the statement said.
In reaction, the Navan Cycling Initiative, a cycling campaign group, said: “Another hit-and-run incident on Meath roads. This is the second such incident reported (that we know of) this month. What is going on our roads?… We need to wake up and get serious about fast-tracking safe cycling infrastructure.”
A previous incident happened in December but was reported at the start of this month. In that case, which was reported on by this website, a hit-and-run motorist left a man knocked off his bicycle with several serious injuries on the L2214, a local rural road between Kilcloone in Meath and Maynooth in Co Kildare.
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Cian Ginty
Editor, IrishCycle.com
A collision as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary is two or more vehicles crashing into each other at force.
We cannot consider a bicycle user and their bicycle striking a motor vehicle as a dangerous force rather that cars and other such vehicles doing so must be regarded as hitting bicycles with terrible consequences.
Describing such incidents as collisions suggests that there is some form of equal danger posed by both motorised transport and bicycles. This is simple not the case.
The sooner we change our culture to understand this we will continue to ‘accept’ bullying, serious injuries and deaths perpetrated by many mororists.
Hi Donal,
IrishCycle uses the term collision in line with the Media Reporting Guidelines for Road Collisions and also the Oxford Dictionary which defines collision as:
“an instance of one moving object or person striking violently against another.”
I’ve also covered more about how I report on collisions in this article: https://irishcycle.com/2022/10/03/when-reporting-on-collisions-irishcycle-strives-to-get-it-right-heres-a-bit-of-background/
I prefer, and indeed try to use, the term ‘impact’ to describe these happenings.