A dead cyclist gets blamed for a collision with privatised garbage truck
Another cyclist killed on the roads this morning, following a collision with a garbage truck.
Already, the media and the state government are lining up to blame the cyclist.
Yet there's no mention about how Sydney City Council's Lord Mayor Clover Moore privatised the city's garbage trucks, so she wouldn't have to negotiate with unionised workers.
And no mention of Sydney's inadequate network of barrier-protected bike lanes.
"An e-bike rider has died after a collision with a garbage truck in Sydney's CBD this morning.
"Emergency services were called to the intersection of Little Regent Street and George Street, near Railway Square, at about 6am.
"Paramedics treated the e-bike rider, a man aged in his 30s, but he died at the scene."
https://www.9news.com.au/national/e-bike-rider-dies-collision-garbage-truck-sydney/09e88f26-a670-46e9-b979-51f1db15652e
Even before the coroner's inquest has started, NSW Premier Chris Minns blamed the cyclist and flagged even more restrictions on e-bikes.
(Note the company running the privatised rubbish collection service: JJ Richards & Sons.)
"New South Wales is considering a plan to halve the maximum power and top speed of ebikes, after a rider died in a collision with a garbage truck in central Sydney.
"NSW police also issued a plea for parents who were considering buying an ebike for their child as a Christmas present to stick to legal bikes rather than more powerful and dangerous models.
...
"The JJ Richards & Sons rubbish truck had been turning into George Street from Little Regent Street when it collided with the ebike."
...
"David Driver, the commander assistant commissioner of traffic and highway patrol, said parents had a responsibility to ensure any purchase was not modified and to ensure their kids were able to ride a bike safely before they went on to the road or footpath."
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/02/nsw-conto-halve-power-and-top-speed-of-ebikes-as-rider-dies-in-collision-with-garbage-truck
The problem is this is not the first time an incident like this has happened in Sydney in recent years with privatised garbage trucks.
(Note the firm involved in this one: Also JJ Richards & Sons.)
"A garbage truck driver who hit and killed an elderly woman has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service after a judge found his driving at the time was not unlawful or implicitly dangerous.
...
"The 34-year-old driver, Christopher Sultana, pleaded guilty to negligent driving occasioning death, which carries a maximum prison term of 18 months.
...
"Sultana began working for waste management firm JJ Richard & Sons four weeks before the incident and had driven the truck unsupervised for two days."
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-garbage-truck-driver-sentenced-for-crash-that-killed-elderly-woman-chester-hill-crime-news/ac03f04a-00f0-49a8-ad16-8dd49f335d58
And this one:
"A young economics tutor who was fatally hit by a garbage truck in Sydney’s CBD had a brilliant life ahead of him and his loss has left his family experiencing endless sadness, a court has been told.
"George Lin, 21, was walking along Central Street in inner Sydney at about 1.04am on February 12, 2020 when he was hit by a reversing garbage truck driven by Tuiniua Fine."
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/endless-sadness-mother-s-anguish-after-son-fatally-hit-by-truck-in-cbd-20210924-p58uir.html
What's the significance of waste management privatisation?
"Police say they have found 25 garbage trucks with non-compliant speed limiters after a series of spot checks at a waste management company in Sydney this morning.
"Officers attended the URM sites in Five Dock and Cromer to inspect a total of 36 trucks after a grandmother was hit and killed on the northern beaches last week.
"The 58-year-old woman was pushing her 18-month-old grandson in a pram on Moorilla Road, Dee Why when she was hit by the truck.
"She died at the scene, while the child was not injured."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-14/police-raid-garbage-truck-company-after-fatal-crash-in-dee-why/9444712
Unionised council garbage truck drivers can stand up to bosses who want them to drive unsafe trucks that put themselves and the public at risk.
Drivers in privatised firms have less leverage.
Anecdotally, I have heard of additional incidents involving homeless people that don't attract media attention.
And here's the thing: A former Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney has flagged safety risks with privatised waste management.
She was ignored:
"As residents throughout Sydney express their outrage with ongoing rubbish collection issues, a local councillor is calling on the public to push back against the outsourcing of rubbish collection.
"Councillor Linda Scott, a Labor councillor on the City of Sydney Council, and former Deputy Lord Mayor, has started a petition in hopes of changing the Sydney rubbish collection process.
"The petition follows the Council’s decision to privatise waste collection, where Cr Scott was the only member on the council to vote against the waste collection’s outsourcing." https://cityhub.com.au/sydney-councillor-responds-to-local-outrage-over-overflowing-bins-and-maggots/ #cycling #bike #bicycle #privatisation #business #capitalism