Donna Fox who was killed when hit by a truck in Dublin's north inner city while riding her bike to work. Her father has appealed for improved bike lanes and more of them so that cyclists are not sharing the same road space as large vehicles.
The father of cyclist Donna Fox killed by a truck in Dublin city centre last month has said he heard of her death on the news but did not realise it was his daughter who had been killed.
From Balbriggan in north Co Dublin, Donna was cycling to her job in a pharmacy when she was fatally hit by a truck in the north inner city.
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Her father Peter gave a powerful interview that was broadcast on the Claire Byrne Live TV programme on RTE 1 last night.
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His words went out just after hundreds of cyclists staged a protest outside the office of Minister for Transport Shane Ross TD in the south inner city.
The Fox family gave their support to the protest which was organised by Dublin Cycling Campaign.
Peter said while his daughter believed she was safe cycling in the city centre, he felt not enough was being done to protect cyclists.
“I heard on the radio that there was a cyclist killed and I was thinking ‘Jaysus, some poor family are going to get that news'," he said of the collision that claimed his 26-year-old daughter’s life on Seville Place on September 6th.
“I said to her: 'Look, you're mad cycling in the city’,” Peter told Claire Byrne.
"I said: 'It's a death trap' and she said ‘No, it's cycle lanes the whole way’."
Peter Fox has been left shattered after the death of his daughter and has appealed for more measures to protect cyclists.
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But while he was heartbroken by what had happened he did not hold a grudge against the truck driver involved.
“I don't want to hate anybody for the rest of my life,” Peter said.
"I know that the man went to work that morning, he didn't intend to do any harm to anybody."
And he said while any father would praise his daughter, Donna was a special person.
"She was a great friend; never let me down. She was great company. She kept the family going. She kept all of us on our toes”.
He believed more needed to be done to provide for cyclists on the roads and make them safer.
"Cycle lanes go so far and then they stop like it’s a patchwork quilt,” he said.
"You’re riding along grand in a cycle lane then you’re stuck out in the middle between cars, lorries, buses, taxis, the whole lot.
“Cars and lorries are getting bigger; the roads are not getting bigger. There’s new roads being built and they’re still being built to the same width as they were 30, 40, 50 years ago.
“The people with the authority should earn their wages, represent the people, do what has to be done.
“You can put a cycle lane through the centre of my sitting room, I wouldn't care if it saved some family going through this."
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