Spate of cycling deaths: ‘We weaponise cars' – Roland Postma, Young Urbanists South Africa

Cape Talk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Roland Postma, Managing Director of Young Urbanists South Africa and co-director of the Active Mobility Forum.

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below:

Cape Town’s cycling community is reeling after a string of tragic incidents claimed three lives in just over a week. 

A 57-year-old cyclist was killed over the weekend after colliding with a tour bus, just days after a 35-year-old lost his life swerving to avoid an open car door.

In late July, 77-year-old veteran cyclist Dennis Hammar died following an attack while riding.

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Postma says these deaths highlight a deeper problem with how South Africans treat the roads and each other. 

“It starts with motorists understanding that they are sitting behind a piece of metal box – they are protected... It’s a shared obligation by law, by ethics..."

- Roland Postma, Managing Director - Young Urbanists South Africa

“Sadly, as South Africans, when we get behind the wheel of a car, we tend to weaponise that car, and I do not say that lightly; this is not based on my opinion, this is based on statistics and observations, so regardless of who you are."

- Roland Postma, Managing Director - Young Urbanists South Africa

He adds that real change will require more than awareness.

“In order to have shared roads, we need to change our culture, we need to have a level of accountability, but we also need to see government, which they are, working towards roads that are designed for all users…”

- Roland Postma, Managing Director - Young Urbanists South Africa

While government efforts are underway, Postma warns that without urgent redesigns and better enforcement, cyclists will remain dangerously vulnerable on the city’s streets.

“We have a road infrastructure network that makes it very dangerous to cycle…”

- Roland Postma, Managing Director - Young Urbanists South Africa

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.