bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-no … e-37476088
A cyclist who puts themselves in a lorry blind spot gets killed and the lorry driver gets the blame … does not sit well with me …
I read something about this the other day. Apparently, according to the prosecutors, lorries are fitted with extra mirrors, so there is “no such thing as a blindspot”. 
You cant give a dead girl the blame ROG. Edit without supportive facts…
Unfortunately the driver didn’t help himself going by the report, couldn’t remember if he indicated, and left a gap for a cyclist to come down the left.
At 8 months suspended sentence, and a fine, and a 2 year driving ban, is the best the driver could hope for in my opinion. Considering a girl is dead.
It’s all very sad, and I have to ask as to why we don’t have Public Information Films in advert breaks to help avoid these deaths? 
Instead it’s always the trucker that’s to blame…
Evil8Beezle:
It’s all very sad, and I have to ask as to why we don’t have Public Information Films in advert breaks to help avoid these deaths?
Instead it’s always the trucker that’s to blame…
That would be a very good idea! Charities like BRAKE etc could easily scrape together the funds for a tv advert… But then their sources of revenue would dip. Or is that too cynical?
Blimey, and I thought I was cynical!
It’s purely the focus on us that troubles me, and we should all be doing our best to stop this happening.
I have to confess that at the end of a 12+ hour day I’m a lot less switched on than earlier in the day…
So as Asda like to say: Every little helps! 
Evil8Beezle:
It’s all very sad, and I have to ask as to why we don’t have Public Information Films in advert breaks to help avoid these deaths?
Instead it’s always the trucker that’s to blame…
We do …but the cyclists take offence to it [emoji57]
ROG:
Louise Wright cyclist death: Lorry driver Adam Haywood guilty - BBC NewsA cyclist who puts themselves in a lorry blind spot gets killed and the lorry driver gets the blame … does not sit well with me …
+1
It’s a very dangerous precedent if drivers are going to be held to blame in the case of the facts of the case saying that the truck was there first and the cyclist then went along the nearside.Also the basis of it having not been proven beyond reasonable doubt as to incorrect use of the indicators and/or the mirrors.I’d guess it’s one step closer to what the cycling lobby want in them being given carte blanche to do whatever they want on the roads regardless of the ‘rules’ and drivers being to blame regardless based on cyclists’ ‘vulnerability’.No doubt they’ll want it both ways in that regard in it being the driver’s fault if a car or truck tries to overtake or undertake a turning cyclist through a junction.
BeakFreak81:
Evil8Beezle:
It’s all very sad, and I have to ask as to why we don’t have Public Information Films in advert breaks to help avoid these deaths?
Instead it’s always the trucker that’s to blame…We do …but the cyclists take offence to it [emoji57]
Well I’ve never seen it…
And doesn’t their objection make us love them even more?
To be fair it’s a bollox advert, as I don’t think any of us would overtake a cyclist and do that.
My fear is one sneaking up my inside while I’m waiting to turn left, never one I’ve approached…
Evil8Beezle:
BeakFreak81:
Evil8Beezle:
It’s all very sad, and I have to ask as to why we don’t have Public Information Films in advert breaks to help avoid these deaths?
Instead it’s always the trucker that’s to blame…We do …but the cyclists take offence to it [emoji57]
Well I’ve never seen it…
And doesn’t their objection make us love them even more? [emoji38]To be fair it’s a bollox advert, as I don’t think any of us would overtake a cyclist and do that.
My fear is one sneaking up my inside while I’m waiting to turn left, never one I’ve approached…
To be honest i’ve never seen it aired on TV either.And i think it puts across a totally different message than the one it’s meant to portray.
At least it managed to get the cyclists nemesis right …the tipper driver [emoji2]
Our local news, BBC East Midlands Today, had been reporting on this during the past week and mentioned that he wasn’t indicating a left turn. Also an ‘expert’ stated that blind spots didn’t exist on the lorry which I find hard to believe really? Alas it wont be the last of such cases as we humans aren’t perfect, apart from a rare handful on this forum of course.
Pete.
There but for the grace of God go any of us, all our worse nightmares to run some poor bugger over.
I haven’t read the link, developed a healthy aversion to the state broadcasters propaganda over the years.
Juddian:
developed a healthy aversion to the state broadcasters propaganda over the years.
+1
Evil8beezle
My fear is one sneaking up my inside while I’m waiting to turn left, never one I’ve approached…Me too. Most of my days are in London and you have to watch the three L/H mirrors all the time. If you leave a six inch gap from the kerb there’ll be a cyclist up the inside. If you’re sat in traffic or traffic lights/junction,the last thing you have to do before you pull away is check the front mirror. I always indicate left even if it’s just a sharp corner. One time I was indicating left,just about to make the turn,and a cyclist came wanging up the inside across the junction. If I hadn’t been watching him in the mirror,i dread to think.
Having said that,there are some cyclists/motorcyclists in London that are switched on. If you’re stationary they’ll sit where you can see them,and if they want to cross you they’ll make eye contact and point to where they want to go. It’s a good system. The worst ones are the ones wearing suspiciously tight Lycra and tourists wobbling all over the shop on ‘Boris bikes’
windrush:
Our local news, BBC East Midlands Today, had been reporting on this during the past week and mentioned that he wasn’t indicating a left turn. Also an ‘expert’ stated that blind spots didn’t exist on the lorry which I find hard to believe really?Pete.
It would be interesting to see a transcript of hearing.IE was there only an ‘expert’ witness for the prosecution and was there an equivalent ‘expert’ witness for the defence.What proof beyond reasonable doubt were the prosecution relying on that the mirrors weren’t used correctly.Did the cyclist and the truck collide within the junction.In which case it’s a case of a cyclist trying to undertake a turning truck through a junction in which case the driver might reasonably have been looking elsewhere at that point. etc etc.
No such thing as blind spots? What about that video by tfl that has about 30 push bikes out of sight of the driver on his near side?
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mick.mh2racing:
No such thing as blind spots? What about that video by tfl that has about 30 push bikes out of sight of the driver on his near side?Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk
Because the mirrors on that have been set deliberately poorly for shock value, coupled with a carefully set camera angle.
Properly set mirrors those cyclists would all be visible.
I keep trying to write something useful up and deleting it. I still can’t believe she’s gone. I was with her on the trip where the pic the beeb used was taken.
All I can think is 2 people made mistakes at the same time.
It’s useless, I know, but I’ve just kept wishing and wishing and wishing that she’d stopped early or he’d pulled away slowly enough that she had a chance, or both.
slowlane:
It’s useless, I know, but I’ve just kept wishing and wishing and wishing that she’d stopped early or he’d pulled away slowly enough that she had a chance, or both.
It’s not useless because that logic might just be a life saver for others in the future if they want to take note of it. 
I wouldn’t go alongside a truck at a junction or a roundabout with a car let alone a bicycle.Regardless of whether the driver is indicating to turn or not.
“Jurors were told it is not illegal for a cyclist to come up the inside of a lorry, but the Highway Code recommends not to do so.”
“Jurors were told there is nothing in law to say that a driver must indicate, but the Highway Code says they should.”
This doesn’t sit right with me, it almost removes responsibility from the cyclist and places it on the driver.
Regardless of my opinions, it’s a very sad situation.