The Star: November 04, 2021

Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday November 4 2021 The Star
NEWS 9
Motorcycle safety key after brother’s death
• By Susan Sandys
NIGEL RANSON has one very
good reason why people should
take note of motorcycle safety
messages, such as those in a new
campaign.
His brother Mike, 52, was
killed in a head-on crash on the
Rakaia bridge on Labour Day.
Ranson is among family
members left behind dealing
with the tragic death of their
much loved brother, father,
grandfather and uncle.
“He was a good fella, he would
do anything for anybody,” he
said.
Ranson said safety messages
such as those promoted in a
motorcycle safety video series,
which was launched on Friday,
were “very important.”
The video has been produced
by the Selwyn District Council
because of the high number of
crashes in the area.
He said both motorists and
motorcyclists needed to be more
careful on the road.
To Friday last week, there
have been 66 crashes involving
motorcycles in the Selwyn
district since 2017, with five
of those being fatal and 23
serious.
Mike Ranson was one of a
family of keen motorcyclists,
MISSED: Nigel Ranson (left) has been left reeling from the loss of fellow rider and his brother Mike. The brothers are
pictured here with their late mother, Lois Ranson, at a family wedding.
and would often ride with Nigel
and son Devon, and their other
brother David.
Ranson said the crash on the
bridge that took Mike’s life, which
occurred about 10am, involved
Mike overtaking a car as he was
travelling to Ashburton from
his home in Christchurch, and
colliding with a truck.
“The truck driver had nowhere
to go, and Mike had nowhere to
go either,” Nigel said.
He does not know why
his brother attempted the
overtaking manoeuvre, but one
thing was certain, and that was
that his brother had made “a
stupid mistake”.
He said safety messages for
both motorists and motorcyclists
were important to reduce the
road toll for motorcyclists.
One important message for
motorcyclists was to always
make sure it was clear for at least
100m in front before overtaking
vehicles.
Mike Ranson was a selfemployed
handyman, father of
four and grandfather of three.
His death was three days after
that of Mongols gang associate
Steve Smith, who crashed with
a car at Burnham on State
Highway 1 about 10pm on
Friday. Media reported several
patched Mongols were quickly
on the scene, and they were
thought to have been riding
in convoy when the accident
occurred.
Both deaths coincided with
Motorcycle Awareness Month
in October.
Senior Sergeant Stephen
McDaniel said both crashes
appeared to be the fault of the
motorcyclists. However, it was
too early to say this definitively
as they were still being
investigated.
He said the crashes
highlighted the importance of
motorcyclists driving to the
conditions and within the limits
of their own ability and the
ability of their machines.
Meanwhile, Selwyn District
Council asset manager
transportation Andrew Mazey
said the annual Motorcycle
Campaign this year involved
the addition of a video series
that featured three Ride Forever
trainers and the police. Ride
Forever is an ACC initiative,
giving riders information and
access to training.
The campaign involved a
roadside event for motorcyclists
that was planned for last month
at the Glentunnel Community
Centre, but will now be next
year following Covid alert level
uncertainty.
Sharon
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