Its a crying shame for that Women, wouldn’t wish that on anybody, My sympathies to her family and friends.
I too spare a thought for the Wagon driver, The description off his devastation was quite powerful. should make us all think bike.
Muckaway:
That lorry will have all the bike safety stuff on it aswell.
msgyorkie:
Our lorries have all the bells and whistles that the clown Boris has demanded. We have the warning signs on the back, we have side cameras, we have Fresnel lens on N/S window, we have the audible alarm going off when indicated left (very loudly saying “caution Truck turning left”)…but STILL the idiots cycle on the inside!!!
What more an possibly be done on the HGV side…surely now its time to direct the flack at the cyclist?
Yep My mates scaffolding company truck has all that stuff fitted too, rear view and N/S view cameras, and an audible left turn warning *caution this vehicle is turning left" but still the Cyclist ride down his N/S when He’s left turning. He reckons he has seen cyclist fiddling with what He assumes to be Ipods, and looking at the side off the truck then continuing, just crazy
Edmund king said
'These cases continue despite the AA’s Think Bikes Campaign, the Metropolitan Police ‘changing places’ initiative and other Transport for London and Department for London campaigns.
Thats taking truck driver out on pedal bikes, counts towards the Driver CPC you know wants to be educating the Cyclists
Unfortunately there is a mindset within the cycling community that as they are the vulnerable road users, everyone should pander to them.
I was a member of a cycling forum and had to leave as the the mentality of quite a few of the posters was unbelievable. They just would not accept any responsibility for their own wellbeing… The response was always “every one should avoid us”.
It was always someone else’s responsibility to ensure thier safety, but never thier own.
I tried to make the point clear that as the most vulnerable road users, you should be doing everything possible to preserve your own safety, but then I got accused of victim blaming and I just had to quit before I exploded.
With that mentality, there is always going to be incidents like this, as you can’t educate morons.
We have distributed more than six million Think Bikes stickers to drivers to put on their side mirrors to remind them to think bikes but obviously much more needs to be done to stop this carnage.’
How the ■■■■■■■ hell much more can possibly be done ! You can’t legislate for stupidity. I feel sorry for the poor bugger driving the tipper. They’re not much better over here, so stupidity’s a world wide thing.
I’ve asked this many times on here & never got an answer but here goes again. Why is it always the cyclist going up the inside of the truck? Is there absolutely no chance of the cyclist being stopped at a junction & the truck comes up alongside them? Reading the article it says they were travelling down the road when the tipper turned, not stationary but moving. No mention of the cyclist going up the inside.
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
BillyHunt:
I’ve asked this many times on here & never got an answer but here goes again. Why is it always the cyclist going up the inside of the truck? Is there absolutely no chance of the cyclist being stopped at a junction & the truck comes up alongside them? Reading the article it says they were travelling down the road when the tipper turned, not stationary but moving. No mention of the cyclist going up the inside.
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
So if the truck had turned left whilst the cyclist was stopped beside it I’m sure that this wouldn’t have happened…
Cyclists here are the same - they even ride on the wrong side of the road towards oncoming traffic as it’s apparently safer?! Even though they still have no lights or high viz.
Yes it’s a tragic accident/occurrence but it really is about time people started to accept responsibility for their OWN actions/inaction.
BillyHunt:
I’ve asked this many times on here & never got an answer but here goes again. Why is it always the cyclist going up the inside of the truck? Is there absolutely no chance of the cyclist being stopped at a junction & the truck comes up alongside them? Reading the article it says they were travelling down the road when the tipper turned, not stationary but moving. No mention of the cyclist going up the inside.
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
According to the witness report the truck was stationary waiting at the lights before moving off to turn left ( ‘’ he had been sat at the red light and only just started to move off’’ ).Bearing in mind that any truck driver turning left in London who has access to the outside world news will already be paranoid about any cyclist ahead when approaching a junction to turn left.
While even if the driver did supposedly drive alongside the cyclist,up to the red light,then it isn’t rocket science for the cyclist to stay still at the line until the truck has moved off and cleared the junction.
I’d go with yet another example of a cyclist riding a cycle along the nearside of a truck ‘after’ the lights turned green between the driver’s nearside mirror checks and looking ahead and offside mirror checks.As I’ve said previously the only way to reduce that possibility is to take the truck through the whole left turn from start to finish on its nearside mirrors and letting what happens ahead look after itself.Being that the risk of a thick idiot cyclist,getting along the nearside,while looking elsewhere,probably outweighs that of someone crossing ahead on a green light.Which then still leaves the question of possible mirror blindspots.
BillyHunt:
I’ve asked this many times on here & never got an answer but here goes again. Why is it always the cyclist going up the inside of the truck? Is there absolutely no chance of the cyclist being stopped at a junction & the truck comes up alongside them? Reading the article it says they were travelling down the road when the tipper turned, not stationary but moving. No mention of the cyclist going up the inside.
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
I’m not making any comment on this particular incident, but as someone who drives into London on a not irregular basis with an artic, then its personal experience that Cyclists ride down your nearside whilst waiting to turn left. This is not an odd time from a rogue cyclist, its all the time. As for tippers, well there is just a lot off them I suppose.
BillyHunt:
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
An 8wheelers’ front end will leave quite a gap when turning corners, while the back end hugs the kerb. With a few exceptions they’re also amongst the longest rigids in London.
I’ve heard people say they’re strange things to drive (large turning circle, extra steer axle etc), which I can understand.
Come Sept 2015 all trucks that are in London have to have side Guard fitted to all trucks from 3.5t and no age limits.
Boris thinks this will stop this happening, this is all on Fors for London site.
New rules announced for London HGVs
Posted on February 12, 2015 by admin
Transport for London has announced new regulations aimed at protecting cyclists and pedestrians for HGVs.
From September 1st, all lorries on the capital’s non-motorway roads must be fitted with side guards (to stop cyclists from being dragged under the wheel) and class V and VI mirrors to improve visibility.
The plan was announced at the second London Road Safety Conference on February 5th. In consultations, over 90 per cent of respondents approved of the proposals.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “Improving the safety of London’s roads is a top priority. We know that a large number of cyclist deaths and serious injuries involve a relatively small number of trucks and lorries that are not fitted with basic safety equipment. Such vehicles are not welcome in the capital.”
Of the 14 cyclist deaths in London in 2013, nine involved HGVs. TfL aim to reduce road deaths in the capital by 40 per cent before 2020.
For more information on the scheme, please visit freight@tfl.gov.uk
Cheers Welly
BillyHunt:
I’ve asked this many times on here & never got an answer but here goes again. Why is it always the cyclist going up the inside of the truck? Is there absolutely no chance of the cyclist being stopped at a junction & the truck comes up alongside them? Reading the article it says they were travelling down the road when the tipper turned, not stationary but moving. No mention of the cyclist going up the inside.
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
According to the witness report the truck was stationary waiting at the lights before moving off to turn left ( ‘’ he had been sat at the red light and only just started to move off’’ ).Bearing in mind that any truck driver turning left in London who has access to the outside world news will already be paranoid about any cyclist ahead when approaching a junction to turn left.
in this case it appears he wasn’t paranoid enough given that he drove off & turned left. With all the mirrors at his disposal, and all the recent publicity, how come he didn’t see her?
While even if the driver did supposedly drive alongside the cyclist,up to the red light,then it isn’t rocket science for the cyclist to stay still at the line until the truck has moved off and cleared the junction. :roll
indeed, because there is no way the driver, getting there second, should wait for a cyclist to clear the junction is there?
I’d go with yet another example of a cyclist riding a cycle along the nearside of a truck ‘after’ the lights turned green between the driver’s nearside mirror checks and looking ahead and offside mirror checks.As I’ve said previously the only way to reduce that possibility is to take the truck through the whole left turn from start to finish on its nearside mirrors and letting what happens ahead look after itself.Being that the risk of a thick idiot cyclist,getting along the nearside,while looking elsewhere,probably outweighs that of someone crossing ahead on a green light.Which then still leaves the question of possible mirror blindspots.
then, as usual, you would be jumping to conclusions as you don’t have facts, your dislike of cyclists will colour this perception.
This will keep happening until cyclists start taking responsibility for their own actions. Of course TFL or Boris won’t say this because it will make them unpopular with the cycling lobby. Lets face it cycling solves a lot of problems (think air pollution and congestion) for the powers that be for virtually no cost so they will continue with the blame the lorries. In the mean time we have another grieving family and another man who just just doing his job feeling like he has killed somebody.
Make no mistake this will happen again and again and again until the blame game stops and some positive action is taken. Mean while TFL sit in their plush offices on their generous publicly funded salaries and blame us the drivers for their own poor planning.
When it comes to accidents,cyclists are like pedestrians. They are assumed as the innocent party and the driver of the other vehicle gets the blame. Thats why they act like they are indestructable,because the powers that be give them so much protection that they dont need to bother with silly things like watching out for their own safety. Its the drivers responsibility. You only need to see the amount who go through red lights,jump on the pavement when it suits them,ride at night without lights etc to see how much disregard they have for the highway code while using the most vulnerable mode of transportation.
Unfortunately until cycling is better regulated and you need to prove you are capable on the road then instances like this will continue to happen.
I stopped at a red light at Parliment Square. Within seconds I was surrounded by bikes, loads of 'em, the box at the lights was overflowing I couldn’t look everywhere and pull away safely so the lights changed and I let them go. I get ready to pull away after the flood of bikes … and the lights changed to red
I don’t see any blame being handed out here, the driver wasn’t arrested was he? Do you really think that cyclists don’t consider the dangers of taking to the roads! They are happy to put themselves in the way of large vehicles with a history of killing people? If that’s the case then some of you are truly deluded. How come it’s only in London? Don’t the other major cities have cyclists & tippers.
As someone that rides through newcastle to work I can tell you they do & most days it doesn’t matter how safe I try to be, there will be some vehicle driver that comes close. I know the dangers but some people are in too much of a hurry, then when something bad happens it’s the cyclists fault, as they are dead they have no comeback.
The-Snowman:
When it comes to accidents,cyclists are like pedestrians. They are assumed as the innocent party and the driver of the other vehicle gets the blame. Thats why they act like they are indestructable,because the powers that be give them so much protection that they dont need to bother with silly things like watching out for their own safety. Its the drivers responsibility. You only need to see the amount who go through red lights,jump on the pavement when it suits them,ride at night without lights etc to see how much disregard they have for the highway code while using the most vulnerable mode of transportation.
Unfortunately until cycling is better regulated and you need to prove you are capable on the road then instances like this will continue to happen.
BillyHunt:
I’ve also asked before why it’s always tippers? I’m not looking to blame anyone but I’ve never driven one so why are they death magnets for cyclists.
An 8wheelers’ front end will leave quite a gap when turning corners, while the back end hugs the kerb. With a few exceptions they’re also amongst the longest rigids in London.
I’ve heard people say they’re strange things to drive (large turning circle, extra steer axle etc), which I can understand.
Also, as it appeared to be a tight lefthand turn, the driver MIGHT (note, MIGHT!) have turned briefly to the right before turning left causing the cyclist to MAYBE (note, just MAYBE!) think that the truck was actually turning right? I know that eight wheeler’s have a better turning circle nowadays, if I had been in my old Sed Ak 400 there is no way that I could have negotiated that junction without doing a shunt and then chaos and confusion would have resulted with any following vehicles!
BillyHunt:
Careful, that’s as close to an admission of wrongdoing as you’ll get on here.
Not really, but eightlegger’s take more road up when turning than trucks that bend in the middle (fact) and that is probably why the majority of cyclist’s death’s involve tipper’s as there are not that many four axle box vans etc around these days. I had 20 years on them and they can catch the unwary out very easily. Having said that, I cannot remember driver’s having as much trouble with bike riders during my time driving, and we didn’t have the mirror set up that modern trucks have, but I was always checking my n/side mirror at junctions just in case anyone was lurking. I was a cyclist for years but no way would I have gone up the inside of a bus or truck at a junction, I just waited behind them.
I couldn’t look everywhere and pull away safely so the lights changed and I let them go. I get ready to pull away after the flood of bikes … and the lights changed to red 