I've just filmed this shocking incident of the motorbike rider careering in Viviani at #ParisRoubaix @TeamSky pic.twitter.com/pGPFmRfFvf
— Guy W (@r8uge) 10 April 2016
Paris Roubaix 2016: A companion motorcycle that is driving far too close drives onto the field after a mass fall and slightly injures Sky professional Elia Viviani.
[tps_footer]“The UCI banned disc brakes immediately after the Ventoso incident. Why aren't there any quick security measures regarding the escort vehicles? There are ideas for that!” Marcel Kittel vents on Twitter. The 28-year-old is probably alluding to the upper limit for escort vehicles that has already been discussed several times by the union and drivers. Drivers are also repeatedly demanding that the speed at which motorcycles overtake the field should be limited. There are actually more than enough ideas, but their effectiveness is sometimes questionable. This is exactly where the greatest difficulty lies for the UCI: on the one hand, one wants to prevent hasty shots, but this means that one plays with the safety of the drivers and, above all, does not give a good image to the outside world. Tom Dumoulin expresses this sentiment: "Somehow I don't get the impression that much is being done to prevent [such accidents] in the future," the Giant-Alpecin professional writes on Twitter and then puts his finger in the wound: “We need bikes in the peloton that are the opposite of us riders: calm, patient and sane. Please leave the racing to us.”
Reading about the crash on Belgium Tour. Horrible! How much more has to happen until @UCI_cycling/organizers will finally react?
— Marcel Kittel (@marcelkittel) 28 May 2016
Dumoulin is certainly addressing an important point: the decisive factor is the behavior of the riders on the motorcycles, their ability to assess situations correctly and their prudence to put the rider's safety first at the right moment. However, for all these highly safety-relevant skills, it is necessary to train drivers accordingly, to monitor them and, if necessary, to punish them. However, even if you were to take immediate action in this regard, changes and hopefully improvements would only be visible in the long term, as this is a time-consuming process.
But it can't just stay that way: The measures mentioned by Marcel Kittel must at least be carefully evaluated and possibly implemented by the association and all other parties involved. Overtaking bans in dangerous positions, speed limits and a possible upper limit for motorcycles must finally be openly discussed. In addition, it is finally time for these investigations to be carried out transparently and in dialogue with the drivers whose safety is at stake. Because as Tony Martin says - it can't go on like this.
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