The electric shuttle bus struck a 60-year-old cyclist as the driver tried to overtake
A cyclist died in North Lantau Hospital this afternoon, hours after being crushed by an electric coach as the driver tried to overtake on the Cheung Tung Road.
The rider, a local man around 60 years old, was cycling on the two-lane road parallel to the North Lantau Highway towards Tung Chung when, police say, a coach driver tried to overtake him. As the coach passed, the cyclist was “bumped”, according to police, with sufficient force to break the bus windshield. The rider was pulled under the left rear wheels, where he was trapped.
Rescue services rushed the victim, unconscious, to hospital where he died about 90 minutes later.
The bus was an electric bus from Shenzhen firm BYD, and was ferrying workers to the O-Park organic waste recovery plant.
Police say they have arrested the driver for dangerous driving causing death.
The road is popular with road bikers, with many groups seen riding between Sunny Bay, Discovery Bay and Tung Chung on the weekends. While most traffic uses the adjacent highway, coaches and garbage trucks plying Discovery Bay and Disneyland often use Cheung Tung Road too.
The rider’s death comes as police have stepped up traffic enforcement against cyclists, claiming that cyclists are a danger to themselves and others. While drivers have enjoyed a 10% reduction in careless driving prosecutions from 2019 to 2020, bicycle riders saw police action against them rise 72% under targeted campaigns such as “Operation Goldensun”.
The narrow spot on Cheung Tung Road where a cyclist lost his life after the driver of an electric bus tried to overtake
Categories: Law and Enforcement, On the Roads, Transit
Why does RTHK news report it as having happened on the North Lantau Highway?
The police’s prejudicial language – “bumped” – contributes to tragedies such as this.
I had a close call a few days ago on the hill climb up from Redhill where a truck tried to overtake me on double white lines in the cutting on a hairpin bend only find another truck coming fast downhill at the same time! I’m a confident rider but HK is actually way too dangerous to cycle!
Anyone who has cycled along that road will not be surprised. The bus drivers overtake dangerously and with zero patience.