A Stop Killing Cyclists die-in took place in Dublin on Tuesday to protest over cycling deaths. But one grieving family has criticised it. Above, the crash scene in Dublin where Donna Fox was killed in September of last year.
The brother of a woman killed while cycling in Dublin last year has questioned the appropriateness of the recent die-in in Dublin.
On Tuesday evening a large protest and vigil was held outside Leinster House. It was organised by several cycling groups under the ‘Stop Killing Cyclists’ banner.
A die-in formed part of the event. It involves cyclists laying in the road and effectively playing dead.
Die-ins have been a feature of cyclist protests in the UK. And the tactic occurred on Tuesday in response to further cyclist deaths on the road in the last fortnight.
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Many in the cycling community believe the strategy is more militant than previous protests and that the time for a more militant cycling lobby was come.
However, Neil Fox has questioned if the die-in should have taken place. His sister Donna Fox (30) was killed in collision with a truck turning left in Dublin’s north inner city just over a year ago.
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He said while he supported calls for improve cycling infrastructure and safety, he felt the die-in was a step too far.
"I just think that it's not right and that these are already real tragedies, they don't need to be dramatised,” he told The Irish Independent.
“I'm conscious that I'm not the only one who has lost someone in a cycling accident.
“And I just don't think the campaigners were trying to understand what we are going through.
“People are grieving and something like this may just add to their pain, there's a way of doing things but I don't think this is it."
He also believed the name ‘Stop Killing Cyclists’ suggested people were deliberately killing those cycling.
“I think it's important to remember that the day Donna died there was another family affected,” he said.
“Her death will undoubtedly have had a huge impact on the life of the truck driver. As a family we bear no ill feeling towards him at all.”
He said he had spoken to the groups involved in Tuesday’s event. And they had told him they understood it may cause offence to some people but they were hopeful the Government would act on cycling safety.
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