Video: Edinburgh cyclist hit by van

IT’s a hard-hitting video showing the dangers of cycling in the city – and it’s fast becoming an online sensation.

The short clip, shot from a helmet-camera and showing a Capital cyclist involved in a lucky escape after being run down by a van, has already been viewed more than 11,000 times.

Mike Quinn, 44, who was knocked off his bike as he turned off Dundee Street, uploaded footage from his helmet camera to YouTube to show people the dangers cyclists face on the road.

The IT worker, who was half-way through his usual commute from Willowbrae to The Gyle, had the right of way when the vehicle cut across his path.

He said: “I was lucky I wasn’t killed. The driver travelled the full length of the bike, but by pure luck I managed to roll out of the way.

“If I had been on my road bike, my legs would have been crushed because I’m normally clipped in. The van driver was in shock I think.”

Paramedics checked over Mike at the scene but he escaped the incident with bruising. However his £600 bike, which he had bought just four weeks before, was written off.

Mike, who was wearing a high visibility jacket at the time of the accident on May 22, had taken part in Pedal on Parliament – a demonstration calling for improved cycling provision – just two days before.

He said: “The response to the video has been mainly positive. There was no doubt as to what happened – the driver didn’t see me.

“It was an accident, but thankfully I managed to escape relatively unscathed. If the video helps improve driver awareness it can only be a good thing.”

Fountainbridge Councillor Gavin Corbett, himself a keen cyclist, said he “cringed” at the footage.

He said: “I cycle that stretch almost every day and know how bad some of the driving can be – it’s shocking that a cyclist can be hit so carelessly.

“There are plans to improve the whole stretch from Angle Park Terrace to Tollcross. Those plans need to be accelerated, and fast, to give cyclists much greater confidence.”

Ian Maxwell of cycling campaign group Spokes said the video was evidence that the speed limit in urban areas of the city should be reduced.

He said: “Making 20mph the normal maximum speed in built-up areas and enforcing that limit would mean that collisions like this would be less likely and the consequences less severe.”

BROWN SAYS ‘NO’

Transport Minister Keith Brown has told MSPs he will not back proposals for a law designed to protect cyclists.

Strict liability means the more powerful road user is liable by default in crashes involving vulnerable users unless it can be clearly proven the latter was at fault.

A campaign to introduce it was launched by legal service Cycle Law Scotland.