- This topic has 54 replies, 33 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 3 months ago by
OldRidgeback.
-
CreatorTopic
-
April 25, 2014 at 6:34 am #21251
Chris82
I note with interest the comments regarding cycling in London. As one of the hated truck drivers i would like to make some comments. If you see a truck my advice is stay away, keep back and under no circumstances, whether its indicating or not DO NOT go up the inside of it. Secondly if you wear headphones whilst riding so you can’t hear whats going on around you, well your a moron.
The roads of London are not designed for the volume of traffic that uses them and while trucks and cycles continue to use the same space accidents are going to happen. And remember we as truck drivers don’twant to come into London we are supplying the needs of 8million people, food,water,coffee all is delivered by truck. -
CreatorTopic
-
AuthorReplies
-
spin sugar wrote:OldRidgeback
spin sugar wrote:OldRidgeback wrote:bashthebox wrote:The junction around Tower Bridge/Tower of London is awful. Had to navigate it every day for a three month contract going south-east to north-east and back again each day. When it’s busy, it’s terrifying due to the sheer volume of heavy traffic, and if you leave work a little late and it’s quieter, there’s always a driver or two using it as a racetrack.It’s horrible on a bicycle, in a car or on a motorbike. I’ve done all three often enough. I try and go a different route if I can.
Totally agree. I actually wrote to the Mayor’s office about it once after a particularly scary ride through that junction one morning and whilst I did get a response (from Andrew Gilligan) it was a template “look at all the stuff we’re doing for cycling in London” email, none of which included making changes to that junction. It’s pretty grim, whichever way you’re tackling it, so that includes when coming off CS3 then onto the bridge. A big part of the problem is when you travel south to north you’re in single lane traffic over the bridge which then fans out into 3 different lanes for then taking 4/5 different exits at the junction, so everyone’s all over the place. It’s not always safe to filter up to the ASL and if you do get there there’s often a BMW and a van taking up a chunk of it. Nightmare.
Oh, and the road surface is crap as well, due to the tourist buses using the route most likely. On a bicycle or a motorbike particularly, that increases the danger. If you can go another way, do.
northstar
Really? lol.
The most
Really? lol.The most obvious thing to do is to close it to all motor vehicle traffic…but that’d take guts and we all know tfl have none.
bashthebox
Yup, or a bus, or a lorry, or
Yup, or a bus, or a lorry, or a coach. Even once had a driver deliberately push across me. That was nice. Best advice is to cross the bridge at the same speed as the motor traffic, then take it very easy whilst filtering into the ASL if possible.spin sugar
OldRidgeback wrote:bashthebox
OldRidgeback wrote:bashthebox wrote:The junction around Tower Bridge/Tower of London is awful. Had to navigate it every day for a three month contract going south-east to north-east and back again each day. When it’s busy, it’s terrifying due to the sheer volume of heavy traffic, and if you leave work a little late and it’s quieter, there’s always a driver or two using it as a racetrack.It’s horrible on a bicycle, in a car or on a motorbike. I’ve done all three often enough. I try and go a different route if I can.
Totally agree. I actually wrote to the Mayor’s office about it once after a particularly scary ride through that junction one morning and whilst I did get a response (from Andrew Gilligan) it was a template “look at all the stuff we’re doing for cycling in London” email, none of which included making changes to that junction. It’s pretty grim, whichever way you’re tackling it, so that includes when coming off CS3 then onto the bridge. A big part of the problem is when you travel south to north you’re in single lane traffic over the bridge which then fans out into 3 different lanes for then taking 4/5 different exits at the junction, so everyone’s all over the place. It’s not always safe to filter up to the ASL and if you do get there there’s often a BMW and a van taking up a chunk of it. Nightmare.
Not really much alternative
Not really much alternative for me if I’m working in East London. I could go over London Bridge, but that’s hardly a better or safer alternative.bashthebox wrote:The junction
bashthebox wrote:The junction around Tower Bridge/Tower of London is awful. Had to navigate it every day for a three month contract going south-east to north-east and back again each day. When it’s busy, it’s terrifying due to the sheer volume of heavy traffic, and if you leave work a little late and it’s quieter, there’s always a driver or two using it as a racetrack.It’s horrible on a bicycle, in a car or on a motorbike. I’ve done all three often enough. I try and go a different route if I can.
The junction around Tower
The junction around Tower Bridge/Tower of London is awful. Had to navigate it every day for a three month contract going south-east to north-east and back again each day. When it’s busy, it’s terrifying due to the sheer volume of heavy traffic, and if you leave work a little late and it’s quieter, there’s always a driver or two using it as a racetrack.srchar wrote:drfabulous0
srchar wrote:drfabulous0 wrote:Would you give your kids the same advice?There is nothing wrong with overtaking safely but you’re the sort of person who is a member of a cycling forum. For general safety purposes “stay clear” is better advice.
If I had kids, I wouldn’t allow them to mix it with traffic in central London’s rush hour full stop. I’m not advising newbies to overtake every truck they see (although I’d rather they did that than undertake); I simply stated that I overtake when I think it’s safe to do so.
I strongly dislike all the “CYCLISTS – GET BACK” stickers that have appeared on buses and lorries over the last few months. They solve nothing and merely serve to reinforce the general opinion that bikes do not belong on roads and should not mix with traffic.
Just another failure to try and resolve themselves of their responsibility, they have no justification for using them, no legal meaning either.
They are so laughable I’ve even seen them on private motor vehicles.
Crankpoet
It seems to me that our roads
It seems to me that our roads especially in London are not designed for their current users – mostly they were designed in the days of horses or very small motors of the early 20th century. The post by Chris82 was just one of someone trying to make their daily way around an inadequate system. To make the bad system work we all need to exercise a bit of common sense. What I have noticed is that when I am commuting on my bicycle that I tend not to want to stop because of the extra effort and hassle so the temptation to take a risk is there – I mostly manage to ignore the temptation but we all are prone to poor judgement on occasions.
I commute past the Tower of London on my east to west London journey and there are times when lorries seem to outnumber all other road users on that stretch so I would be in favour of a Paris type ban it would ease things a bit.
srchar
drfabulous0 wrote:Would you
drfabulous0 wrote:Would you give your kids the same advice?There is nothing wrong with overtaking safely but you’re the sort of person who is a member of a cycling forum. For general safety purposes “stay clear” is better advice.
If I had kids, I wouldn’t allow them to mix it with traffic in central London’s rush hour full stop. I’m not advising newbies to overtake every truck they see (although I’d rather they did that than undertake); I simply stated that I overtake when I think it’s safe to do so.
I strongly dislike all the “CYCLISTS – GET BACK” stickers that have appeared on buses and lorries over the last few months. They solve nothing and merely serve to reinforce the general opinion that bikes do not belong on roads and should not mix with traffic.
mooleur
chrisp1973 wrote:How about a
chrisp1973 wrote:How about a “drivers mate” – the Army has been using them forever, a passenger to assist the driver in observation, loading and unloading etc.We’ve enough unemployed in this country, hell you don’t need to be fit, qualified or a people person, you just need to be able to look out a passenger window and have enough of a command of the English language to say “clear” or “wait……….clear now” probably helpful if you like Yorkie bars too.
That sounds like a good idea and a great way to create jobs, especially for folks who’ve been struggling! Although I suppose it’d be down to the profit of the company who employs them, it might be quite a large overhead in the long run for smaller freight or construction firms.
Unless it was like a part time or even a return-to-work scheme type thing.
drfabulous0
srchar wrote:
If I see asrchar wrote:If I see a truck, I will approach and overtake it on the outside. I won’t “stay away” or “keep back”, because there’s really no need, unless the driver’s not looking in his mirrors when I perform a safe overtake.
Would you give your kids the same advice?
There is nothing wrong with overtaking safely but you’re the sort of person who is a member of a cycling forum. For general safety purposes “stay clear” is better advice.
Al__S
Things the roads of London
Things the roads of London are DEFINITELY not designed for: four axle tipper truckschrisp1973
How about a “drivers mate” –
How about a “drivers mate” – the Army has been using them forever, a passenger to assist the driver in observation, loading and unloading etc.We’ve enough unemployed in this country, hell you don’t need to be fit, qualified or a people person, you just need to be able to look out a passenger window and have enough of a command of the English language to say “clear” or “wait……….clear now” probably helpful if you like Yorkie bars too.
Scoob_84 wrote:The cycling
Scoob_84 wrote:The cycling extremists are out in force againWho’d have thought it, on a cycling forum too. Devious subversive bastards.
-
AuthorReplies
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.