Ring ring, is the noise were accustomed to when walking the dog as the bike speeds past.
But in a truck its a different story.
The statistics are bad,and could be better.
Mirrors help and paying attention should be enough,
Unfortunately there’s still to many incidents of trucks and cyclist.
How about fitting sensors along the side of trailers and box vehicles.
And fitting sleeper and day cabs with windows for better visibility.
Where have all the cabs with rear windows gone.
If you can provide better visibility for trucks and a more professional minded cyclist then it can only get better,
I could suggest sensors along side,just like the ones you have in the rear of a car.
it’s a pretty poor show when it comes to cycle paths
Or how about just teaching cyclists to stay well clear of trucks and not to cycle up the inside/blind spot. That should do it. How much more idiot proofing to our trucks do we need to do to protect them.
Edit. Goddammit. Just realised who the OP is after posting. Should have known better than to feed him.
My employer has sensors fitted to the whole (large) fleet . The general opinion of the drivers is that they are ineffective at best and at worst a distraction . The sensors are activated when the left hand indicator is used , linked to a flashing display in the cab and a loud audible continuous bleep when something is detected on your nearside . This means that EVERY time you indicate left you are distracted as the sensors pick up everything , street furniture , railings , fences , everything !
Sensors are not the answer. We already have too much to distract us from looking forward! Six mirrors are more than enough. They could add another one of them mirrors that let you see the nearside wheel arch on the drivers door, that would help a little.
But sensors are a different problem. As said above, they will go off passing traffic lights. They will go nuts in a traffic jam. Then there is the power problem, side markers could power them but then all the driver would need to do is turn off the lights. If they they find another way to power them, all it will take is a couple of jams before the driver disables them.
It got that bad that drivers were disabling them !!
We will be sat in the gaffers office with a union rep if caught doing it now , but that just shows how useful the people who use them on a daily basis thinks they are
Normally either the truck goes past the cyclist,or the cyclist passes the truck.
It’s all about being aware of ones surroundings.
Some cyclist are to blame for not moving out of the,way sometimes.
Like the cyclist who cycles down the outside of a bus lane,nearest the car traffic,like the bus on the left,and car on the right.
A good start would be compulsory high visibility jackets.
Rear windows in truck cabs,articulated.
And compulsory side windows in all truck cabs.
What about mirrors on traffic lights positioned to show the side view of the road.
Going back to sensors.
They would have to clean and would sense obstacles up to say withing to 1 to 5 inches.
I suppose the best suggestion is everybody pays attention and be observant.
And no rushing about.
I like the idea of rear windows in tractor units. In fact when I’m parked up tonight I’m gonna get busy with my tin opener. I’ve always been fascinated with the front of my close coupled fridge! From now on I’ll be able to keep a really close eye on it.
I am a cyclist and a truck driver. I used to race cycles so I don’t hang around. Obviously I am far more aware of what not to do as regards being near a truck. Common sense for a lot of cyclists is the answer but you sadly can’t teach that.
Being stupid and wearing black in the dark is stupid. Not shelving out £6 for a set of bike lights and riding on the road in the dark should carry a fine of £1000.
All this must be coming from "vulnerable road users"as learnt the other week when i joined Smiths training day. Outcome was, not very much. Drivers with sensors said they go off at everything so you would get to ignore them, enough mirrors already, any more defeats the object, they BLOCK view. You need to educate the cyclist starting with the old cycling proficientcey {can’t spell} test updated and to include the laws about driving vehicles apply them to cyclists. The old Fodens had windows all round the cab, fairly usefull but too high for cyclists so don’t get your tin openers out yet.
Cyclist’s are a pain to themselves. From what i have seen so far that “some”, not all, think people should get out of there way and stay away from them. I am all for that when driving the lorry, but it is a pain in the arse when they ride so slowly away from the curb and sitting in the middle of the road and won’t let you get past to get on. I could go on, but cannot be naffed.
Kerbdog:
Common sense for a lot of cyclists is the answer but you sadly can’t teach that.
Being stupid and wearing black in the dark is stupid. Not shelving out £6 for a set of bike lights and riding on the road in the dark should carry a fine of £1000.
What he said. Having no lights on a bicycle these days is plain stupid; they are actually available for half the stated cost, including a packet of cheap batteries, in Poundland. It beggars belief that people will spend over a hundred quid on a pushbike and not bother to pay for a set of lights; perhaps it should be made mandatory for each new sale to include a set? Batteries last forever compared to the old days as well; remember those dirty great big U2 batteries that lasted about two hours if you were lucky?
We had sensors fitted to the front bumpers of our trucks, more to avoid damage on farm lanes than cyclists. They turned out to be almost useless, and would go off in heavy rain on the motorway, one distraction you can well do without when you really need the utmost concentration.
Do agree about the nearside window on sleepers though. Very handy.
Kerbdog:
‘… Common sense … is the answer but you sadly can’t teach that…’
‘Common’ sense has successfully become a thing of the past - although few people realised the signs of it’s pending doom at the time: Not least because many leftie commentators wished it that way.
‘Common’ sense died when the gullible were celebrating being a ‘diverse’ nation under Blair’s grinning (and treacherous) Labour Party.
It meant, by definition, that being ‘diverse’ is contrary to having anything in ‘common’
kerb mirrors on all trucks should be heated,bigger,and controlled electronically from the dash for town and city driving,often wondered why this wasn’t the case.
The best sensor a truck can have is an alert driver especially when turning left at a junction.It amazes me why everyone wants to blame the cyclist all the time.Yes cyclists can be to blame but so can the truck driver.
If a truck driver sees a cyclist coming up his inside when stationary at a junction there should never be a problem.The truck simply waits till the cyclist is clear.Why a truck driver fails to see a cyclist coming up his nearside can be down to different circumstances but in general probably because he is not paying attention or not looking enough.Witnessed it many times.
When I drove in London regularly I constantly was aware of what cyclists would do whether it be right or wrong but I was always extra vigilant and patient with them.
From what I see now on Londons roads it is more like a war between the two and that makes them both as bad as each other.Unfortunately trucks and cyclists have to share the roads and the sooner attitudes change the sooner there will be fewer accidents.
