On Monday I was heading back up the A303 from Oxford back to my depot in Henstridge after tipping my steel load. One or two hills before Solstice Services the small black car in front of me put on its right indicator and changed lanes. Despite questioning why on earth he was moving out of the empty inside lane to the outside lane I followed suit. I squinted my eyes, it was noon and the light was good. Was that a bike? Omg there was a 3 wheeled bike cycling on the 70mph dualed A303 - I could barely see him! From the view in my cab looking down on the bike who was travelling uphill, the backdrop was tarmac. Trust me that bike was nearly invisible to me. Non lorry drivers think that because of our elevated view we have a better view of everything but this is not always the case. The view of the bike from a car was probably much better. They would have been at a very similar height so a car drivers view would probably have silhouetted the cyclist against the skyline making him much more visible. I remember passing the bike with the cyclist standing up in his pedals trying to get up the hill thinking that was an accident waiting to happen!
5 minutes later that cyclist was involved in an accident and sadly died shortly afterwards.
A truck hit him just after that junction before the top of the last hill before Solstice. It was literally a couple of minutes after I passed him. Now obviously it’s terribly sad and condolences to the family and friends but WHY??!! What sort of person cycles up what is effectively a motorway without a hard shoulder? He can’t have been doing more than 10-15mph uphill.
I feel desperately sorry for the truck driver as that could have been any one of us. The police appealed for anyone who saw either vehicle shortly before the incident to ring 101. I did what I thought was right and rang up describing the view I had from my cab. They are taking a statement from me next week.
Why oh why are bicycles allowed on dual carriageways like the A303■■
I cycle. And I look at cyclists on certain roads and just think why? Yes your legally allowed to and your doing what the Highway Code tells you to do but does that make it safe? Not always.
Cyclists should not be allowed on any A road which has a 50mph limit or above end of. If there is a footpath adjacent to the road they should use this and be sensible when approaching pedestrians and corners etc. To be on the road is not only putting their life’s at risk but in turn is putting other road users life’s at risk also.
There has to be more cycle paths built, or separated roads and pathways on popular routes to avoid these incidents. Otherwise there will just be more needless deaths day in day out and more families in turmoil.
Granted this was the M1 and should never have happened but a few weeks ago there was a guy travelling up the inside lane wearing dark clothing and on a push bike. Tesco lorry about to exit didn’t see him till the last minute and nearly wiped me out as he had to swerve into my lane to avoid him. Had we each have been a second earlier or later we would both have been in a eating through a straw.
I am not against cyclists, but some have to think and consider they are not the only ones on the road ( especially when those who sit in the middle of the lane for miles).
Blind faith probably has something to do with it. You put your faith in the driver’s behind you not to hit you whenever you ride on any road regardless of the speed limit, and you get used to having to do that. The longer you go without getting hit the more confident you may feel. I see the fella was in his seventies so he perhaps went a long time without an accident… complacent, overconfident? Who knows.
One thing that gets me beyond angry, to the point of depression, is cyclists who carry toddlers on bikes and ride on the road.
The worst are those little trailers with a kid in the back.
Who the hell would drag their child along behind them, out of view and inches from death.
Anyone doing this on the roads should have their child taken away as they are clearly demented.
Sad about the OPs story but some militant cyclists are really asking for it
idrive:
One thing that gets me beyond angry, to the point of depression, is cyclists who carry toddlers on bikes and ride on the road.
The worst are those little trailers with a kid in the back.
Who the hell would drag their child along behind them, out of view and inches from death.
Anyone doing this on the roads should have their child taken away as they are clearly demented.
Sad about the OPs story but some militant cyclists are really asking for it
Don’t know if you’re aware of this incident with a child in one of those trailers, the guy thought it had groceries or something in IIRC. telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews … buggy.html
Postby SJB » Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:39 am
Blind faith probably has something to do with it. You put your faith in the driver’s behind you not to hit you whenever you ride on any road regardless of the speed limit, and you get used to having to do that. The longer you go without getting hit the more confident you may feel. I see the fella was in his seventies so he perhaps went a long time without an accident… complacent, overconfident? Who knows.
I think this is spot on. He’s probably cycled up and down the countries A roads for years and got away with it. I wouldn’t ride a push bike on ANY public road; you are putting your life in other drivers hands. It doesn’t matter how safe a rider you are it only takes another driver to have a momentary lapse of concentration or make a mistake and you are dead. This thought stops me from riding a bike - end of!
I have a pretty dim view of all cyclists, every night on my way to work I come across at least three all with no lights, no hi viz gear, then there are the two i see on battery scooters one with a tiny rear light and the other no lights, again no hi viz gear, all of this down an unlit twisty fast A road!
I reckon all cyclist have a death wish, even if lit up and hi viz you just know one day they are going to run into a guy whos had a bad day just like the one in the link above and then its all going to end in tears.
There’s got to be a big rethink on this - times have changed, the roads and traffic density has changed.
Fast duals have no place for cyclists (or really 30 mph scooters/mopeds) they should have the same restriction as motorways - remember the big old signs on the slip roads years back with a list of prohibitions.
Cars and vans can usually squeeze by but we have to enter another road space to safely get around which is a hazard in itself because other drivers in the right lane probably haven’t seen the problem ahead.
I await the squeals of protest from the right to ride brigade
I’ve been driving for nearly 50 years ( you wanna see my tacho chart ) and things are so different from way back.
This cycling superhighway about London - has many places where you can easily run straight over a cyclist without even realizing that their path goes right across yours, but with a deceptive set of TWO traffic lights, one after the other, as in this position on the new-fangled Elephant and Castle junction…
I was there recently, saw the front set of lights go green as I was almost coasted to a standstill, and was almost instinctively about to accelerate away, before realizing my near lights were still red…
A moment later, a stream of previously blind-spotted (coming from right, behind) cyclists came whizzing past - right under the front of my cab! Yes, sure - there’s a clear cycling lane there… BUT it is hard to see in bright sunlight at an oblique angle.
I agree with OP here “Any of us could end up killing a cyclist”.
“Unsuitable fast roads”
“Misleading traffic system”
“Changed Priorities”
… or even “Unfamiliar Road” to EITHER the Trucker OR cyclist.
It usually takes TWO to create an accident: One to cause it, and the other to fail to avoid it.
I understand that this fatality was about a Escooter using one of these “cycling superhighway lanes”, as they are not allowed on the main road, nor pavements…
Once again, on the approach to this Battersea Roundabout - we see an “easy-to-misenterpret” system for any appraoching HGV driver with a high cab looking at some aspects at an oblique angle.
In this case, the actual cycle lane as marked out on the road has “rather worn away” making it difficult to see, especially for any approaching C2 vehicle seeing the filter light go green on final few yards of approach - only to trundle over someone cutting across using the cycle lane that they simply “did not see”. It is hard enough to see a regular cyclist - let alone someone on an Escooter, in this case…
Socketset:
There’s got to be a big rethink on this - times have changed, the roads and traffic density has changed.
Fast duals have no place for cyclists (or really 30 mph scooters/mopeds) they should have the same restriction as motorways - remember the big old signs on the slip roads years back with a list of prohibitions.
Cars and vans can usually squeeze by but we have to enter another road space to safely get around which is a hazard in itself because other drivers in the right lane probably haven’t seen the problem ahead.
I await the squeals of protest from the right to ride brigade
I’ve been driving for nearly 50 years ( you wanna see my tacho chart ) and things are so different from way back.
Absolutely…
Spot on. Fast A roads and dual carriageways are just death traps for cyclists now. The rules were made when cars had drum brakes and struggled to reach 50 mph.
Now bear with me on this one. We actually encourage pedestrians to walk against the flow of traffic (which few seem to do). There might be some merit for the cyclist to do the same. They would be able to see what’s coming at them as opposed to just hoping what’s coming at them has seen them. Not sure how you could apply this to groups of cyclists who take over the whole lane though. The system we have doesn’t work and something needs to change.
Truth is we are an unheard minority - what we see through our windscreens and in our mirrors is often completely different to the passenger car.
There ought to be far more consideration for this - overgrown hedges forcing trucks toward the crown of the road and silly traffic light shades on the green are two of my pet hates, also road signs placed at cab level at junctions is another.
Those pics provided by Winseer are disturbing - planners should spend a week in a cab as part of their job.
poor driver…it must be terrible in so many different ways for him with the additional inevitable factor of instantly to blame,and no dount crucified by the media,whereas the darwin award once again goes to the cyclist.
Please be careful with your comments guys. I get that this is a forum but some people are searching for answers and stumble across your off the cuff remarks. I’m not a right to ride brigade. I get that we all have to share a road. It took him more than 5 minutes to die I’m afraid. Thanks for talking to the police for those of you who said you have… if you know anyone else who can that would be great. We are not looking for a witch hunt… just closure.
deaddad:
Please be careful with your comments guys. I get that this is a forum but some people are searching for answers and stumble across your off the cuff remarks. I’m not a right to ride brigade. I get that we all have to share a road. It took him more than 5 minutes to die I’m afraid. Thanks for talking to the police for those of you who said you have… if you know anyone else who can that would be great. We are not looking for a witch hunt… just closure.
Sorry for your loss, apologies for any offence caused
idrive:
One thing that gets me beyond angry, to the point of depression, is cyclists who carry toddlers on bikes and ride on the road.
The worst are those little trailers with a kid in the back.
Who the hell would drag their child along behind them, out of view and inches from death.
Anyone doing this on the roads should have their child taken away as they are clearly demented.
Sad about the OPs story but some militant cyclists are really asking for it
Don’t know if you’re aware of this incident with a child in one of those trailers, the guy thought it had groceries or something in IIRC. telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews … buggy.html
