Melbourne: Cyclist flies over car bonnet after crash; netizens split over who is at fault

Footage of a car and cyclist crashing an intersection in St Georges Road and Clausen Street in Melbourne has sparked a debate online. The video, uploaded by Dashcam Owners Australia on Facebook, shows the accident clearly, however, netizens remained divided over who was at fault after they saw the cyclist flying over the car bonnet upon contact with the car

The footage shows a van, which stopped next to an intersection, in order to go straight, while a black car was trying to turn down the street to the left of the van. The van seemed to leave enough space to allow cars on the opposite side to turn into the perpendicular street.

However, the cyclists who were travelling close to the footpath didn't see what was happening. One of the cyclists moved down the road having been unable to see the road ahead properly before being struck by the vehicle. As the black car slowly made a right-hand turn down the side street in front of the van, in a few seconds, the cyclist was seen flying through the air, over the car's bonnet. 

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In the video, the cyclist was seen hitting the bonnet of the car and the bike was sent flying into the air. The driver in the white van carefully slipped between the black car and an approaching tram, while other cyclists and pedestrians came rushing over to the cyclist to his aid to see if he was okay, as per reports. 

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Who is at fault?

This footage has spurred a debate online, with people divided on who is at fault. In the comments, one person wrote:

"The driver of the turning car is definitely at fault here. However, and it kills me to say it, it would be very difficult for the driver to see the approaching cyclist. I would never ride through at that speed."

Whereas, another said: "If it is a right-hand hook turn area (Victorian road rules) then the bike is at fault as the driver turning has right of way."

Another said that ''the cyclist was “not riding to conditions”, given the “built-up traffic, tram, intersection, van blocking visual”.

One person said that ''The cyclist should have been in 'self-preservation' mode you have to assume- if you don't have a clear view that a car may be turning into the street.''

One person tried to lay the blame on both parties, saying: "The car failed to give way to all oncoming traffic and the cyclist should have been able to see the car attempting to cross and should have slowed. And even if they couldn't see the car, knowing the traffic was stopped and a side street where they should have erred on the side of caution and slowed anyways."

While people were taking sides in the comments, debating whether it was the driver or the cyclist in the wrong, some directed attention to the van driver exiting the scene. One user jokingly commented,

“The van driver has 99 problems and the cyclist ain’t one of them.”

The cyclist is reportedly well and was fortunately not harmed by the incident. He can be seen standing up soon after the crash and fall in the footage.

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