It would have been my fault. After all, I was on the opposite side of the road, overtaking a couple of vehicles travelling at 80km, on the Illawarra Highway near Sutton Forest.

It was before sunrise, relatively overcast and damp.

But I would like to ask the bicycle rider a couple of questions.

Why were you dressed completely in dark colours?

And why did you not have a light on the front of your bike? (You did have a flashing red tail light, after all.)

And did you believe that being in the dark a couple of hundred metres behind a well-lit peleton would have offered some protection?

But then I feel like I should ask the broader questions?

For cycling athletes in general - why is dressing in predominantly black the height of fashion and the zenith of risk?

Is it a fashion statement worth dying for?

For cycle gear manufacturers and retailers - why is it really difficult to find cycle tops with significant amounts of "hi vis" colours?

And for our local bike clubs - who sadly have known at least one fatality due to a cyclist not being seen near dusk - why are our club jerseys for road riding so "low vis"?

I should add that I am an enthusiastic cyclist - but am amazed how few cyclists in Australia feel that this is an issue.

And while I have an opportunity to say so - just as I beg my fellow cyclists to be more visible - would you drivers please make sure that you give a margin of at least one metre (and preferably one and a half metres) when overtaking a bike in your car on the open road?

And even more if you are in a truck of a large 4WD.

Vince Roche

Exeter