The deaths of Idries Sheriff, 41, and Francois Esterhuizen, 55, in Cape Town in the past week have highlighted the dangers faced by road cyclists from reckless or inattentive drivers. In July veteran cyclist Dennis Hammar, 77, was pushed off his bike during a violent robbery on F.W. de Klerk Boulevard. He died of post-surgery complications. Danilo Waena, 35, was cycling to his bike mechanic job at Olympic Cycles on 1 July when a driver in a parked car opened their door on Claremont main road, forcing Waena to suddenly swerve onto the road. He was hit by a taxi and died on scene. In the Netherlands, a country with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car and public transport, motorists practice what is known as the 'Dutch Reach', a technique for safely opening a car door by using the hand furthest from the door. This technique encourages the driver to look back for oncoming cyclists and traffic. This simple habit can reduce the risk of "dooring" incidents. Last year Calib de Kock, 17, was killed on a training ride along Beach Road in Sea Point. He collided with a car door that was suddenly opened in front of him. In August Allen Cox, 57, and two fellow cyclists were riding down Chapmans Peak Drive towards Hout Bay when they collided into a tour bus that had turned into a lookout point area. Cox, a Hout Bay resident, died on the scene. The other two riders recovered. To help improve motorists' awareness of cyclists, the Pedal Power Association (PPA) is emulating an initiative that started in the US, known as ghost bikes. In 2003 Patrick Van Der Tuin, an artist in the US city of St Louis, witnessed a cyclist being hit by a car. He decided to paint a bicycle white and place it where the accident happened with a sign saying "Cyclist Hit Here" to act as a signal to motorists to be aware of cyclists. He noticed the effect on driver behaviour the bike had and put up another 15 white-painted bikes around St Louis, where cyclists had been hit. Sometimes he used damaged bikes to create a mangled effect. PPA has placed ghost bikes around Cape Town. Many of the bikes have since been stolen because they have scrap value. PPA's safety liaison organiser Liz Heydra told us, "You know we put these bicycles up, but sometimes within a week they're gone. It's sad, but true." The bikes installed for Hammar and de Kock have been taken as was the bike for Ian Macpherson who was stabbed to death in a robbery while mountain-biking in Fish Hoek's Sun Valley in 2018. Drunk driving, mobile phone use while driving, cycling side-by-side and other forms of inattention, as well as crime make cycling unnecessarily dangerous in the city. To increase cyclists' confidence on the roads, PPA organises social rides, where more experienced volunteers lead new cyclists. "Ghost Bikes are small and sombre memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel." Ghost bikes, an initiative that started in the US, honours cyclists who have died Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn This is a very common accident for cyclists and is known as "dooring". Veteran cyclist Rodney Beck, ahead of a PPA social ride that started in Mowbray, told GroundUp:

South Africa: How a Cycling Group Is Trying to Make Cape Town's Roads Safer

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. 19 December 2025 GroundUp (Cape Town) Tagged: South Africa Southern Africa Sport Tagged: South Africa Southern Africa Sport Tagged: South Africa Southern Africa Sport "We want to keep everybody close; we stop along the way a few times. It's a social ride. A lot of the riders need confidence on the road, to feel safe within the group because cycling alone is not safe. It's all about enjoying it and trying to promote cycling and hopefully get these riders out of the entry level group so that they can get fitter and improve. Cycling can be very intimidating when you first start out. I don't care what bike you've got, what you look like, let's just get on our bikes and ride."