A forensic crash investigator has described the traffic light design at a Brisbane intersection as 'alarming' after a young cyclist was killed when a bus turned into his path. The Queensland coroner's court heard that the lights gave both the bus driver and the cyclist the impression they had right of way simultaneously.
Maximillian Patrick McDowall, 20, died at the corner of Gillingham and O'Keefe Streets in Woolloongabba in May 2021 when a City Glider bus struck him as it turned onto the south-east busway. The driver, Andrew Rudnicki, told the court he had driven buses for 33 years and had not previously experienced issues at the intersection, but had heard of other drivers having 'adventures' with cyclists there.
Sergeant Carl Cutler, lead investigator for the Queensland police forensic crash unit, said the traffic lights gave a green light to pedestrians and vehicles turning left at the same time, with no separation. 'It provides both pedestrians and motorists with the mindset that 'I have the right of way' to travel through the intersection,' he said. A recreation of the accident showed that McDowall was in the bus's blind spot almost the entire time before the collision.
Under cross-examination, Cutler conceded that the cyclist would have had no idea of the driver's line of sight and may have been confused by the bus's rapid change in speed. The driver had slowed to 17 km/h to give way to a pedestrian and cyclist before accelerating to 21 km/h. Cutler also noted that McDowall could have been affected by the afternoon sun.
Rudnicki, who had driven the route nearly 800 times, said he would 'do everything the same' because he simply did not see the cyclist. He supported the idea of adding a green arrow to the traffic lights to ensure pedestrians are clear. The inquest, which will last three days, continues before Coroner Donald MacKenzie.
