What I blame most of all for this proliferation of “killed cyclists by truckers” - is that all too often some kind of “changed traffic system” is what I’ll blame.
It is NOT “Ingorance of that chance” on the part of the trucker, nor is it “poor cycling experience” on the part of the cyclist.
BOTH can be HIGHLY experienced, but end up colliding when the system changes in a misleading way, leading to that old adage “Familiarity - breeds contempt”.
Too many traffic lights close together
Cycling lanes at oblique angles to traffic
Lanes that can go “live” or “only use in emergencies” at the drop of a hat.
“White Lines” that are not supposed to be crossed, seemingly being ingored by everyone…
People feeling safer “because everything is caught on camera” these days, only to find there’s not much call for a “Crem Cam” as of yet to record that miserable final journey so many of us end up taking, win or lose in this life.
Roundabouts with far too many lanes - don’t help matters, neither of course. Even when I was a kid, I remembered there being regular cyclist fatalities on the Bowaters roundabout, when Bowaters sheet metal plant was still actually there - where Tescos Extra, Gillingham is today, with “Bowaters” written on that big ball thing, followed by “Crest” before becoming “Tescos”. Decades of time, but still an accident black spot for Cyclists though.
Then there’s this thing where cyclists hasten their own demise by:
Wearing dark clothing, no lights, and insist on riding down poorly-lit, but main roads like the A21 through East Sussex in particular, as touched upon in a post above.
Anyone can doff a “TfL” Bike, on a “no experience necessary” or “Don’t even need to display your scout cycling proficiency badge” like our generation might have had to do as kids…
Punters using actual outlawed vehicles such as these E-scooters or Mini Bikes… They have been marked ILLEGAL FOR ROAD USE for a damned good reason!
Winseer:
Punters using actual outlawed vehicles such as these E-scooters or Mini Bikes… They have been marked ILLEGAL FOR ROAD USE for a damned good reason!
Except of course they haven’t been marked as any such thing (not in this country at any rate).
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
That, mate, is one real thoroughbred asrehole who once he comes out after a very long spell inside should never ever hold a licence again.
He deserved to rot in prison for at least 20 years instead of the 2 he was sentenced to (did he do his full time? dunno). When I read the original article describing him reversing into the bicycle it made my blood boil. Death was the easy way out. Sorry
Winseer:
Punters using actual outlawed vehicles such as these E-scooters or Mini Bikes… They have been marked ILLEGAL FOR ROAD USE for a damned good reason!
Except of course they haven’t been marked as any such thing (not in this country at any rate).
Sorry bud, you’re plain wrong.
" Despite their popularity in cities such as Paris and San Francisco, e-scooters are actually illegal to ride in the UK in most situations and the first fatality involving one was recorded over the weekend. "
In the case of Minibikes, even if the bike itself is “legal for off-road use” - the issue of “illegal on paper” comes into play.
Of course, if one wants to interpret the term “Illegal” as being “Like a No Deal Brexit now is” - then the public are going to continue being given ambiguous law advice by those very same lawmakers who can’t seem to get from one week to another - without passing new laws contradicting previous ones they themselves have made.
Winseer:
Punters using actual outlawed vehicles such as these E-scooters or Mini Bikes… They have been marked ILLEGAL FOR ROAD USE for a damned good reason!
Except of course they haven’t been marked as any such thing (not in this country at any rate).
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total pish,especially coming from someone to painfully nitpicking and pedantic.
e scooters and minibikes are for off use only and seeing as they have engines,then to be used n a public road they need the same requirements as any road legal vehicle including insurance and tax,which they will never have.
it dont stop the scallys from buzzing about the scummy housing estates on them though.
i dont imagine there will be any policing in the cities to convict anyone using one illegally though,and when the next truck creams one,itl still be grief for the driver.
I didn’t say that they were legal for use on the road - just that they are not marked to that effect (in this country - other jurisdictions have their own rules regarding such markings).
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 mate and hope your family get some closure eventually
Roymondo:
I didn’t say that they were legal for use on the road - just that they are not marked to that effect (in this country - other jurisdictions have their own rules regarding such markings).
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try and buy one where you will invariably see disclaimers and warnings to this effectthough obviously they may not engrave the actual thing in 1 inch deep letters…
Important information: Please note that currently riding an e-scooter is allowed on private land only. It is forbidden on public roads and the pavement.
Some ebay ads have such a warning (an arse-covering exercise to protect the seller), some don’t (ebay.us/zRasMy). My point remains that there is no requirement (in the UK) for any such marking. No nitpicking involved (just let it go mate - you’ll feel much better for it).
Roymondo:
Some ebay ads have such a warning (an arse-covering exercise to protect the seller), some don’t (ebay.us/zRasMy). My point remains that there is no requirement (in the UK) for any such marking. No nitpicking involved (just let it go mate - you’ll feel much better for it).
^^^^^^
have you been down the shops t examine every scooter for sale to be certain that none have the stickers?
obviously you havent.
ive seen a cpl minimotos and 1 scooter that have had stamps on them…off road use only…so thats good enough for me whether theres a legal requirement or not.
theres no requirement for countless things sold in the uk because its obvious they are not required by every law of common sense,reality and logic as its painfully obvious even to the biggest ■■■■■■ that an e scooter or minibike are not legal,hence why would they feel the need to put stickers on everything.
with your knit picking,then by the same logic they dont put a sticker on a bus saying " not legal to drive through the middle of a shopping centre"…cop yourself on and think of something else to dissect.
Well done OP for making public and contacting the police with your valuable opinion regarding the cyclists visibility or lack of.
Hopefully your input will be of use regarding culpability.
Condolences to all involved.
Roymondo:
Some ebay ads have such a warning (an arse-covering exercise to protect the seller), some don’t (ebay.us/zRasMy). My point remains that there is no requirement (in the UK) for any such marking. No nitpicking involved (just let it go mate - you’ll feel much better for it).
^^^^^^
have you been down the shops t examine every scooter for sale to be certain that none have the stickers?
obviously you havent.
ive seen a cpl minimotos and 1 scooter that have had stamps on them…off road use only…so thats good enough for me whether theres a legal requirement or not.
theres no requirement for countless things sold in the uk because its obvious they are not required by every law of common sense,reality and logic as its painfully obvious even to the biggest ■■■■■■ that an e scooter or minibike are not legal,hence why would they feel the need to put stickers on everything.
with your knit picking,then by the same logic they dont put a sticker on a bus saying " not legal to drive through the middle of a shopping centre"…cop yourself on and think of something else to dissect.
I don’t need to dissect anything as you’re doing it for me - you just can’t help yourself. Just let it go - you’ll stop having such a low opinion of yourself.
have you been down the shops t examine every scooter for sale to be certain that none have the stickers?
obviously you havent.
ive seen a cpl minimotos and 1 scooter that have had stamps on them…off road use only…so thats good enough for me whether theres a legal requirement or not.
theres no requirement for countless things sold in the uk because its obvious they are not required by every law of common sense,reality and logic as its painfully obvious even to the biggest ■■■■■■ that an e scooter or minibike are not legal,hence why would they feel the need to put stickers on everything.
with your knit picking,then by the same logic they dont put a sticker on a bus saying " not legal to drive through the middle of a shopping centre"…cop yourself on and think of something else to dissect.
[/quote]
I don’t need to dissect anything as you’re doing it for me - you just can’t help yourself. Just let it go - you’ll stop having such a low opinion of yourself.
[/quote]
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to be honest i have a decent opinion and outlook on meself.
its when i think of the ones on here of certain ilks that i feel pity for.
the trampy damon jts styles then i just think how inferior and worthless they must feel to have the need to try to get others to interact with them remotely on here,plus theres the pedantic nitpicker googler brigade who do likewise.
its like a kid deliberately misbehaving to get a slap which they accept that negative attention is better than no attention.
but by all means,come back with the last word.(again)
thehighlandscot:
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.
Totally agree, proper cycleways, like you see in the Netherlands and parts of Germany, not a couple of lines painted on the road that in my opinion puts cyclists in more danger by squeezing them down the left hand side of traffic.
Isn’t the whole danger about cycle pathways that they cross the main actual roads in more places than they should? In my mind a proper cycle highway - would have crossings over normal traffic roads @ junction points that are actually “cycle only” subways and shallow incline bridges… But that would cost loads and loads though, and in the great rush to get things done “On the cheap” - the cost to human life of having oblique junctions where any truck can hit any or even a group of cyclists at once - is a clear and present danger at all times.
The Dutch don’t seem to have had many problems keeping the live traffic stream of vehicles away from the cycle lanes…
Fizzifish:
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■■
In daylight you failed to notice a lawful road user doing nothing wrong. This is serious enough that you need to report it to your insurer, you’ve failed the minimum standard expected of HGV drivers.
The victim was well-known locally. On the local news Facebook page numerous drivers posted that they regularly saw him on the way to care for his wife. Drivers could see him, they admitted it. Then a lorry driver kills him and another lorry driver calls the collision an “accident” and attacks the victim for being there, the exact same argument employed by ■■■■ apologists. Despicable, you should apologise to the family.
