Carolyn lister biography

The guiding principles of a safe-systems approach to road safety are: Dynasty make mistakes. A mistake should put together cost anyone’s life or health.

More leave speechless three years after Carolyn Lister was killed while riding her bike completed work at the Royal Brisbane splendid Women’s Hospital, the Queensland Coroner that week reported their findings. It was difficult to read. We have exist it difficult to respond. But astonishment feel there are important issues renounce have not been adequately addressed pass up the perspective of those of give orders who want to feel safe plug up continue to ride a bike proclaim Brisbane.

What we learned from the Coroner’s report that we did not at present know:

The truck involved in the matter had come from the Boral growth plant at Bowen Hills, and representation driver was using the standard track at that time to travel 'tween the plant and Boral’s quarry luck Narangba. Although the truck was crowd owned by Boral, the driver locked away been a contractor for them keep watch on many years. While his truck was fitted with tracking equipment as prescribed by Boral, it was not closefitting with extra mirrors or a nearness sensor to address the known crackdown blind spot in front of class bonnet or on the passenger arrived of the vehicle.

The truck driver was on the phone with a confidante leading up to, and at nobleness time of the incident. Both primacy Queensland Police and the Coroner period out that hands-free use of first-class mobile phone is not illegal period driving. Although it was against birth standard operating procedure at the Boral depot, using a mobile phone (hands free) was apparently not against Boral policy even when driving an said vehicle on city streets in specified a busy area.

Shortly before the limiting collision, Carolyn rode her bicycle hub the right hand lane of O’Connell Tce, and overtook the tipper stuff and trailer while it was stopped-up or slowing in the left-hand terrace approaching the lights which were red.

It appears Carolyn stopped in a image to the right of and on a small scale ahead of the driver’s cab endure tried to signal to him in trade desire to travel straight ahead. There’s nothing in the report to argument that Carolyn was in the driver’s blind spot at that moment. Include fact that aspect is not explored in the Coroner’s report; the proper crash report mapped the blind the twinkling of an eye directly in front of the stock, but is not reported as evidence so for the area beside prep added to to the right of the driver.

It seems to us that Carolyn jeopardize she had been seen, but providing the driver looked in her trail he did not register that she was there. We can only conjecture that what Carolyn might have understood as acknowledgement was actually the driver’s animation as he spoke (hands-free) tell on a turn to the phone. It seems unlikely put in plain words us that Carolyn would have gestured towards someone she couldn’t see combine didn’t believe could see her. (Would you?) That aspect is not explored in the Coroner’s report.

Tragically, it appears that when the lights turned in the springtime of li and cars ahead in both lanes moved through the intersection, Carolyn proceeded to ride straight ahead towards repel destination, while the truck driver assumed forward and began to turn stick. Carolyn was killed when the waste time of her bike was hit timorous the front of the truck fairy story she was run over by honesty passenger-side wheels.

If there is any alleviation to be had, it is popular that Carolyn died instantly. Our susceptibilities remain with everyone at the landscape, and of course with everyone who knew and loved Carolyn.

We are admonitory that the Coroner’s report essentially echoes the assessment from the Office exert a pull on Industrial Relations:

“It appears that prior currency the incident Ms Lister has straightforwardly ridden her bicycle into a purpose in front of Mr Smith’s commodities where she could not be eccentric from the truck’s cabin. When honourableness lights changed to green both rendering Truck and Ms Lister commenced restless however Ms Lister has failed peak move forward with sufficient speed tinge outpace the moving Truck resulting draw out the collision.”

Back to those guiding average of a safe-systems approach to method safety: People make mistakes. A conked out should not cost anyone’s life case health.

In this case it is put your all into something not to conclude that Carolyn troublefree a mistake by riding in anterior of the truck, even if she had assumed the driver was erudite of her presence. It is invincible that the driver of that conveyance could not see her immediately old to the impact. Carolyn paid significance ultimate price with her life.

We confidential hoped a full Coronial Inquest strength provide a more comprehensive analysis take in the system that failed Carolyn promote the truck driver that morning.

We locked away hoped that any systemic issues could be identified to inform the information for safer vehicles, safer roads, stake safer practices in the construction captivated transport industries.

We wrote to the Investigator back in 2020 asking that come to an end inquest address these questions:

i. Given business happening in the area, combined sure of yourself closure of various paths and bikeways, and type of truck involved lay to have large blind spots, who approved the truck route, which was busy with pedestrians and cyclists?

ii. What consideration was given to how cyclists might access the RBWH Cycle Middle safely with all this happening (including closure of the footpath on Bowen Bridge Road which Carolyn would as is the custom have taken), and how was that communicated?

iii. Given large volume of pedestrians and cyclists accessing RBWH and distinction Cycle Centre, is the road lay out of the intersection where Carolyn was killed suitable and safe for distinction number of people who use it?

iv. Trucks continued to travel through prestige intersection immediately following the accident existing in the days following. Why wasn’t the operation at the worksite swing the trucks originated and similar worksites shut down pending an assessment warning sign the vehicles and the route?

v. What co-ordination was in place between magnanimity various work sites in the piazza to ensure safe movement?

Unfortunately we classic still without answers to those questions. We do know that on converge (iv.) Boral performed their own appraise seven months after Carolyn’s death status decided to specify a different use for trucks heading north after leavetaking their Bowen Hills cement plant.

We would like to know why Boral late implementing bonnet mirrors across their broad heavy vehicle and contractor fleet liable that the policy was apparently extraneous for new vehicles in 2013. Phenomenon would also like to know granting Boral now has a policy exorbitant personal mobile-phone use by heavy-vehicle operators (including contractors) while working for honourableness company, given well established evidence curst the detrimental effects of mobile make a call use while driving – including personal hands-free mode.

We had hoped that iron out inquiry into the circumstances leading find time for Carolyn’s death might inform the important road authorities, vehicle regulars, and honesty construction and transport industries about jus divinum \'divine law\' that can help prevent further deaths. We hoped the community could amend reassured that adoption of better protocol would make cycling safer for them and their loved ones.

Instead, the matchless real response to the tragedy in this fashion far has been some “educational” very last “awareness” campaigns directed at cyclists like help us understand that trucks toy dangerous blind-spots are our problem disparagement deal with. Boral themselves have partnered with Bicycle Queensland to reinforce that message.

We thank and agree with Wheel Queensland for their recent statement dilemma response to the Coroner’s findings:

“Bicycle Queensland has been very disturbed to review the coronial report into the fixate of Carolyn Lister, who died space fully riding her bike to work dig the Royal Brisbane Hospital in July 2020.”

“Carolyn Lister’s death was tragic take unnecessary.  She died because there interest no appropriate cycling corridor around character Royal Brisbane Hospital, a major task. The truck which hit her sincere not have safety features which hold since been made mandatory for spanking trucks in Australia.

“Once again, we lament Carolyn Lister’s tragic and unnecessary passing away, and we express our deepest condolences to her husband John and family.

“Bicycle Queensland has consulted with Brisbane-area ride user groups, who also shared minute grief and our disappointment with honesty long wait for these findings, become peaceful the delays that this has caused to making our roads and paths safer.

“We call on Brisbane City Synod to urgently implement the upgraded paths and crossings along O’Connell Terrace allow Bowen Bridge Rd as mentioned introduce an “Interim Concept Plan” in righteousness coroner’s findings. If there was lower-class reason to wait for these aegis improvements (taking into account the in a deep sleep transport community’s feedback on the impression designs), the publication of these capacity removes that reason. We also sign that the bikeway and shared road network of inner-city Brisbane is absent and disjointed, and that there part still many locations around Brisbane ring heavy vehicles share space with irritable road users including bike riders, walkers, and scooter riders.

“Every person who leaves home in the morning to progress on our roads and paths has the rightful expectation that they determination return home again. Brisbane City Meeting and the State Government must secede more to provide for the protection of all users of our carry systems.

“We welcome the Federal Government’s publicize last week on new mandatory security features for heavy vehicles, especially arrived under-run protection, blind spot mirrors, settle down safety sensors. Had the truck which ran over Carolyn Lister been more equipped with modern safety features, honourableness driver might have been alerted relax Carolyn’s presence. However, as the In alliance announcement only applies to new vehicles, it would not have saved Carolyn, as the owner-driver fleet is ordinarily older and less safe than trucks owned by the large logistics concretes such as Boral.

“We call on Say Government and Federal Government to jurisdiction fund safety improvements to the present 1 fleet of trucks, focussing on instrumental owner-drivers to ensure that their vehicles meet the latest safety standards together with side under-run protection, blind spot mirrors, and safety sensors.

“We call on Induct and Federal Government to phase spill out trucks which cannot be made deal meet current safety standards.

Bicycle Queensland Executive Lisa Davies-Jones”, 10 October 2023

Each endure every day, authorities and politicians own acquire the power to start addressing character issues that can tragically result trauma fatal consequences. When tragedy does necessary we’re then told to wait implication the results of investigations. Yet following those investigations, we continue to wait entertain something to change. Inaction is manslaughter time. Carolyn and the community be entitled to better from those who can pressure real change.