Government donates to Amy Gillett fund

[cfsmtb]

Johnny make a worthy donation, as so have several state governments and
cycling organisations. Anything yet from Bicycle Victoria ?!?


Government donates to Amy Gillett fund
October 7, 2005 - 10:29AM
http://tinyurl.com/d7q8o

The federal government will give $50,000 to a memorial fund in honour
of Australian cyclist Amy Gillett who was killed in a German road
accident.

Prime Minister John Howard made the commitment, taking the total funds
in the Amy Gillett-Safe Cycling Foundation to $250,000.

Gillett was on a training run earlier this year in Germany when an
inexperienced driver lost control of her car and slammed into the
Australian women's road cycling squad.

Five other cyclists were injured in the July 18 accident.

Cycling Australia, Gillett's husband Simon, and her parents Denis and
Mary Safe established the foundation in her memory.

It will provide a scholarship programme for young female cyclists and
will promote road safety awareness among cyclists and motorists.

Mr Howard said the foundation was discussing ways with the government
to make the donations tax deductible.

"I commend Cycling Australia, Denis and Mary Safe and Simon Gillett on
their initiative and send the best wishes of my government and the
Australian people to Alexis Rhodes, Louise Yaxley, Kate Nichols, Katie
Brown and Lorian Graham for a speedy recovery," Mr Howard said.


--
cfsmtb

[GPLama]

"HellenWheels" wrote in message ...
> On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 12:17:12 +1000, cfsmtb
>
> Aww, isn't that cute the way they mitigate that this woman, ignoring race
> officials, rode headlong into the cycling squad. Poor thing.
> Inexperienced.
> Yeah, right.
>

Race officials..? rode headlong..? Are you disputing the fact she was an
inexperienced driver?

I'm missing something here..

cheers,
GPL

[HellenWheels]

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 12:17:12 +1000, cfsmtb
> wrote:

>Gillett was on a training run earlier this year in Germany when an
>inexperienced driver lost control of her car and slammed into the
>Australian women's road cycling squad.

Aww, isn't that cute the way they mitigate that this woman, ignoring race
officials, rode headlong into the cycling squad. Poor thing. Inexperienced.
Yeah, right.

-Wheels.

[HellenWheels]

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 12:56:50 +1000, "GPLama" > wrote:

>"HellenWheels" wrote in message ...
>> On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 12:17:12 +1000, cfsmtb
>>
>> Aww, isn't that cute the way they mitigate that this woman, ignoring race
>> officials, rode headlong into the cycling squad. Poor thing.
>> Inexperienced.
>> Yeah, right.
>>
>
>Race officials..? rode headlong..? Are you disputing the fact she was an
>inexperienced driver?
>
>I'm missing something here..
>
>cheers,
>GPL
>

My understanding was the driver passed a race official who tried to flag
her down, she ignored him and skidded off the right side of the road and
overcorrected, plowing into all six cyclists. She had passed her formal
driving test four weeks earlier. Let's be sure and keep her name out of the
paper, and that every news account mitigate the reckless driving by being
sure to include she had only been driving for four weeks.

-Wheels.

[Random Data]

On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 23:31:23 -0400, HellenWheels wrote:

> My understanding was the driver passed a race official who tried to flag
> her down, she ignored him and skidded off the right side of the road and
> overcorrected, plowing into all six cyclists.

I'm fairly sure your understanding is incorrect, since it was a pre-event
warm up ride IIRC. I can't imagine there being a race official for a
training ride.

Dave - who could be wrong

--
Dave Hughes |
"Hey, watch the 'fro" - Danny Glaze

[flyingdutch]

Random Data Wrote:
> I'm fairly sure your understanding is incorrect, since it was a
> pre-event
> warm up ride IIRC. I can't imagine there being a race official for a
> training ride.
>
> Dave - who could be wrong
>

No, you are right (and yes, we have NO bananas! :D)

They were on a training ride, scoping out a course the day/s before a
race.


--
flyingdutch

[Bleve]

cfsmtb wrote:
> Johnny make a worthy donation, as so have several state governments and
> cycling organisations. Anything yet from Bicycle Victoria ?!?

Given that last financial year BV lost ~$200,000, I'd hope
that they wouldn't donate anything to a fund set up with
it's aims as :

* To provide support for the rehabilitation of Amy's five injured
team-mates

Ie: give cash to them. Why are they any different to anyone
else injured in a road accident? They're surrounded by support,
they have lots of people helping them already. They don't need
extra help (or at least, no more than anyone else injured in
any way in any context). To put it in context, FD posted recently
about his experience with a friend being killed by a car door and his
own major injuries sustained when riding. Is there a "FD foundation?"
If not, why not? He's seen friends killed, he's been majorly banged up
by a car when the car driver was at fault.

* To fund and administer a scholarship program for young women
cyclists to support their sporting and academic endeavours

Yet another "give money to elite athletes". VIS/AIS already
does this. In Victoria at least, any female cyclist with an
incling of talent (and a lot without!) get all sorts of sponsorship
thrown
at them. Drapac, BikeNow, TFM etc practically queue up to get their
jerseys on the few girls that race.

* To support and promote projects aimed at road safety awareness
amongst cyclists and motorists

ie: Do what BV are supposed to do anyway.

What happened was a terrible thing, but terrible things happen every
day to
people a heck of a lot less fortunate than those 6 riders, and while
it's a visable issue, I'm all for little Johnny helping out with our
taxes for more middle class welfare, but BV giving cash it doesn't have
to an organisation with goals that essentially either compete with
BV for mindshare, or are of questionable benefit to the general cycling

population? I'd prefer they (BV) spend the money on getting more
people
riding more often!

[aeek]

Bleve Wrote:
>
> Given that last financial year BV lost ~$200,000, I'd hope
> that they wouldn't donate anything to a fund set up with
> it's aims as :
>
> * To support and promote projects aimed at road safety awareness
> amongst cyclists and motorists
>
> ie: Do what BV are supposed to do anyway.
>

so in that, it would be outsourcing, not really a donation at all.


--
aeek

[HellenWheels]

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 17:16:01 +1000, flyingdutch
> wrote:

>
>Random Data Wrote:
>> I'm fairly sure your understanding is incorrect, since it was a
>> pre-event
>> warm up ride IIRC. I can't imagine there being a race official for a
>> training ride.
>>
>> Dave - who could be wrong
>>
>
>No, you are right (and yes, we have NO bananas! :D)
>
>They were on a training ride, scoping out a course the day/s before a
>race.

OK, I stand corrected. Still it galls me when they mitigate: 'a car hit
them' - not a 'car' a dumbass maniac behind the wheel of the car killed
them. I don't care how pretty the driver was, how remorseful, if they'd
only driven for 90 days or 30 days. You kill someone in a car you lose your
license would be my preference, dammit.

-Wheels.

[Bleve]

aeek wrote:
> Bleve Wrote:

> > * To support and promote projects aimed at road safety awareness
> > amongst cyclists and motorists
> >
> > ie: Do what BV are supposed to do anyway.
> >
>
> so in that, it would be outsourcing, not really a donation at all.

heh, could be!

[cfsmtb]

HellenWheels Wrote:
>
> OK, I stand corrected. Still it galls me when they mitigate: 'a car
> hit
> them' - not a 'car' a dumbass maniac behind the wheel of the car
> killed
> them. I don't care how pretty the driver was, how remorseful, if
> they'd
> only driven for 90 days or 30 days. You kill someone in a car you lose
> your
> license would be my preference, dammit.
>
> -Wheels.


Precisely. This shows again these convoluted, intrenched issues,
involving the inproper use of language to describe a road incident,
plus the prevailing legal attitude to mitigate any driver
responsibility....don't get me started as I'll spent the rest of
Saturday venting on a.b...


--
cfsmtb