Lorry drivers to spend half a day as a cyclist on the roads
Training scheme should give a very different perspective on safety
LCC HGV Training (pic: Ben Broomfield)
Lorry drivers in Redbridge are to spend half a day riding bicycles on the roads thanks to a £250,000 grant to spend on improving cycling in the borough.
70 HGV drivers will complete their Safer London Driving course this month, part of Redbridge's commitment to becoming a Biking Borough.
Councillor Paul Canal who sits on the council's Cycling Liason Group told the East London Guardian: "If every HGV driver rode a bike and every cyclist sat in the cab of a HGV lorry, deaths would decrease by 90 percent."
According to Transport for London, more than half of all cyclist deaths in London are caused by collisions with goods vehicles.
Only one in a thousand (0.1 per cent) of collisions with a car resulted in the death of a cyclist in the 12 months to 2011.
That rose to one in 200 (0.5 per cent) where the vehicle was a taxi, and just under one in 150 (0.68 per cent) where small and medium goods vehicles were involved.
However, where the incident involved a large HGV or other oversized vehicle, 7.94 per cent – nearly one in 12 – resulted in the cyclist being killed.
0.1% with a car, but nearly 8% with LGVs? Blimey.
Sounds like a great idea, although I can just see a bunch of fat fellas riding slowly on sturdy mountain bikes going down a storm on a busy road. No doubt we'll get blamed for that as well!
If the bicycle was invented tomorrow, it would be seen as the solution, not the problem
Sounds like a great idea, although I can just see a bunch of fat fellas riding slowly on sturdy mountain bikes going down a storm on a busy road.
I'm concerned I come across as humourless here, but we cyclists don't like all being tarred with the 'whippet thin, lycra-wearing red light jumper' brush, so we're possibly better off not dealing in generalisations.
I'll hop off my soapbox now 
0.1% with a car, but nearly 8% with LGVs? Blimey.Sounds like a great idea, although I can just see a bunch of fat fellas riding slowly on sturdy mountain bikes going down a storm on a busy road. No doubt we'll get blamed for that as well!
If it makes them more aware when driving then I couldnt give a sh!t if they were overweight.
This can only be a good thing surely ..
I suppose the cyclist riding in the cab could check the poor visibility of the HGV drivers mirrors and note that undertaking lorries on a bike is a dangerous thing...
Unfortunately sitting next to an HGV driver for a while the cyclist (and or pedestrian..) is unlikely to observe the primary reason for accidents involving HGV's: drivers texting on their mobiles, breaking the speed limit or turning off roads without signalling.
Generalisation? Possibly. But I would suggest that 30% of skip lorry drivers indulge in 2 out 3 of the above activities (sometimes simultaneously) on every journey they make.
It's primarily selfish, careless driving that needs to be addressed with regulation of both drivers and employers and serious prison time - not role playing to see each other's pain.
MercuryOne
Can we also send some cyclists along with LGV's to show them how it feels to be along side one, squeezed at junctions.....etc 
Redbridge is (I think) the 7th London borough to implement an Exchanging Places programme. Cycle awareness is also to become part of the annual proficiency requirements for HGV drivers. Would be even better if it became part of the car driving test, too.
been saying for the last 2 years that ALL motorists should have to ride 200 miles (or suitable distance) before they get their licence to see what lifes like for cyclists. Create jobstoo as need to be chaperoned by a 'real' rider to get the miles signed off. They could do 40 5 mile rides or 2 100 ones as long as they do it!!
It's a great idea and a move in the right direction.
Cycle and motorcycle training should be compulsory for ALL vehicle drivers unless they have a disability. It would make a huge reduction in casualty figures for vulnerable road users. The scheme should require all vehicle drivers have to take the training within a set period, or lose their driving entitlement completely.
OldRidgeback
Taxi's are cars, why are they 5x more deadly than other cars?
Not sure. Heavier? Or maybe random variation.
Stewie
Make learner drivers ride a bike as part of their lessons. That way they could still travel independently on the roads before passing their tests. It would enhance their road sense as well as providing cycling instructors with employment, boosting the economy and making them more 'cycle aware' It surely would not be that difficult to implement. And would normalise cycling in everybody's eyes.
tommy2p
notfastenough wrote:Sounds like a great idea, although I can just see a bunch of fat fellas riding slowly on sturdy mountain bikes going down a storm on a busy road.I'm concerned I come across as humourless here, but we cyclists don't like all being tarred with the 'whippet thin, lycra-wearing red light jumper' brush, so we're possibly better off not dealing in generalisations.
I'll hop off my soapbox now
You're right, you do. 
No, fair enough. Suitably chastised! I shall henceforth gain 2 stone in weight then go for a non-stereotypical ride as punishment.
If the bicycle was invented tomorrow, it would be seen as the solution, not the problem
Taxi's are cars, why are they 5x more deadly than other cars?
They spend longer on the roads?
They are driven by unlicensed, uninsured drivers?
Looking from the other direction too, I have see some lunacy cycling in respect to HGV's and getting too close, going up the inside etc.
On the bus last night (27 from Warren Street to Notting Hill Gate for those that are interested) I was thinking that some bus drivers could benefit from this. There were several near misses with cyclists which were down to the drivers impatience (ironic really because he had to stop at one stop for a couple of minutes as he was too early). I've driven a bus as well so I know he could do better. I would not pass up the opportunity to drive an HGV, preferably an Eddie Stobart!
If cycling is indeed a sport of self-abuse why aren't more cyclists sectioned under the mental health act?
@OldRidgeback
Why exempt drivers with a disability from compulsory cycle training?
Adapted bikes and trikes are available that can accommodate most of the impairments that disabled drivers have.
"Adapted bikes and trikes are available that can accommodate most of the impairments that disabled drivers have. "
And if they don't then there are e-bikes and mobility scooters, which would serve equally well.
However small a beginning, It's a start!
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