“Death on the road”: A cyclist was knocked down to death in St. Petersburg

Kremlin today

In St. Petersburg, on the morning of July 11, about 20 cyclists held a recumbent protest rally near Smolny. This is reported in the group “St. Petersburg Cycling Community” in VKontakte. The organizers of the event told “Paper” that in this way they tried to show the government that cyclists are the most defenseless road users.

How did it all start?

The action itself was arranged to honor the memory of a deceased friend of cyclists. Twenty-three-year-old Eduard Shalukhov died in the morning of June 27 as a result of an accident. He was hit by a woman who had repeatedly violated the rules before this incident. According to media reports, over the past four years, she has committed more than fifty traffic violations and more than thirty administrative charges. This is also stated in the group of cyclists.  

“Ed was a charming, always smiling guy, an experienced cyclist. On the morning of June 27, he was hit by a reckless girl. The video shows how a car knocks him down at breakneck speed, on a deserted street. The guy died on the spot “”— reads the post of the St. Petersburg Cycling Community group.

What do St. Petersburg cyclists still demand?

Over the past month, three people were killed in an accident in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. In this regard, St. Petersburg cyclists have created a petition with the following requirements:

  1. Change of priorities. Now cyclists and pedestrians should be the main ones on the roads, then public transport, and only then private cars. 
  2. Strengthening the growth of bicycle infrastructure. According to the group members, ten kilometers per year is too low a speed of development. 
  3. Reduction of the maximum permitted speed to 40 kilometers per hour. After all, because of the non-fined threshold, the speed in the center of cities reaches 80 kilometers per hour, which increases the length of the braking distance and the complexity of management. 
  4. Punishment of the culprit of the incident. 
  5. The introduction of a limit on violations, so that after five violations per year, a person can be deprived of his rights. Cyclists also demand to increase fines and cancel discounts. 
  6. Review of liability measures for road traffic accidents. 

“Could this death have been avoided? 

Yes, but not in St. Petersburg and not in Russia, because the driving culture, traffic rules and infrastructure here are such that it is absolutely unsafe for everyone to be on the streets: for pedestrians, cyclists and even motorists” — the inscription on the website with the petition.