- This topic has 54 replies, 33 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 3 months ago by
OldRidgeback.
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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. -
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srchar
“your a moron” – says it all
“your a moron” – says it all really.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.
Personally, I don’t wear headphones as I like to hear what’s going on, but deaf people also cycle and you can’t hear the environment in a car or truck with the radio on.
The roads of London are indeed too narrow, congested and potholed to safely cope with the amount of traffic on them. If you look closely though, you’ll see that a bike takes up much less room than a truck or even a car, so that’s not the fault of cyclists.
I wonder what sort of reaction I’d get if I logged onto a trucker’s website and tried to give them some tips on safe driving.
userfriendly
Chris82 wrote:
Well iChris82 wrote:
Well i expected to get shot down in flames, but apart from a couple in the main the response has been positive.
Can i make ir clear, in my comments about headphones i was not, and would not point the finger at deaf people or the hard of hearing.
I would wholeheartedly support a ban on HGV ‘s say between 7 and 9am and 4 and 7pm it can only be a good idea.
I am pleased i do not drive either a skip lorry or tipper truck. And in the comment about me riding a bike in London, not on your life. That is until like Milton Keynes, London has a series of red routes for cycles only. It’s far too dangerous too many motor vehicles and lorries.
And remember the more mirrors you fit on a truck the more blind spots you create.Thank you for sticking around and reading the responses, Chris. And not only the positive ones either. I’m aware that my response will have seemed hostile to you, but the general tone of your opening post and some of the points you made did get my blood boiling a bit. In case you simply phrased them in an unfortunate way and I misunderstood, I apologise.
I’m glad you agree about the rush hour ban, in my mind this is one of the things that would greatly improve the situation in a lot of cities.
Good point about more mirrors creating new blind spots, though. Goes to show that a new approach to this problem must be found instead.
northstar
Chris82 wrote:Well i expected
Chris82 wrote:Well i expected to get shot down in flames, but apart from a couple in the main the response has been positive.
Can i make ir clear, in my comments about headphones i was not, and would not point the finger at deaf people or the hard of hearing.
I would wholeheartedly support a ban on HGV ‘s say between 7 and 9am and 4 and 7pm it can only be a good idea.
I am pleased i do not drive either a skip lorry or tipper truck. And in the comment about me riding a bike in London, not on your life. That is until like Milton Keynes, London has a series of red routes for cycles only. It’s far too dangerous too many motor vehicles and lorries.
And remember the more mirrors you fit on a truck the more blind spots you create.Are you blind? Take your rant and any future words you wish to post here and fuck off.
FluffyKittenofTindalos
Scoob_84 wrote:
I think theScoob_84 wrote:
I think the point would be to understand the limitations of manoeuvring large vehilcles on small and busy roads and how significant the blind spots are.Then one should ask why they are on those small and busy roads.
I’m not arguing for a blanket ban, but time-and-again I (often as a pedestrian) see them slowly and painfully trying to negotiate roads that are clearly entirely unsuitable for them.
Why can they not be routed to avoid those small roads, and maybe the ‘busy’ roads could be made less busy by getting some of the other traffic off of them?Well i expected to get shot
Well i expected to get shot down in flames, but apart from a couple in the main the response has been positive.
Can i make ir clear, in my comments about headphones i was not, and would not point the finger at deaf people or the hard of hearing.
I would wholeheartedly support a ban on HGV ‘s say between 7 and 9am and 4 and 7pm it can only be a good idea.
I am pleased i do not drive either a skip lorry or tipper truck. And in the comment about me riding a bike in London, not on your life. That is until like Milton Keynes, London has a series of red routes for cycles only. It’s far too dangerous too many motor vehicles and lorries.
And remember the more mirrors you fit on a truck the more blind spots you create.Flying Scot
Replaced with what
Replaced with what exactly?Long vehicles will always have blind spots.
Answer is a compulsory test for all drivers every 5 years with enhanced test items on inside observation.
Last time I checked, observing the near side mirror before moving off isn’t even a test item, it’s an advanced driving technique, or at least it used to be.
If we want the ‘ modern world’ we need long vehicles, I don’t need it, but most seem to.
oldstrath
Scoob_84
Scoob_84 wrote:[quote=Argos74
To those suggesting cyclists drive a lorry for a day, remind me again how many lorry drivers have been killed in collisions with cyclists.I think the point would be to understand the limitations of manoeuvring large vehilcles on small and busy roads and how significant the blind spots are.[/quote]
Which would seem to make quite nicely the point that these vehicles are not fit for the purposes for which they are being used, and should be replaced.
Scoob_84
[quote=Argos74
To those
[quote=Argos74
To those suggesting cyclists drive a lorry for a day, remind me again how many lorry drivers have been killed in collisions with cyclists.[/quote]I think the point would be to understand the limitations of manoeuvring large vehilcles on small and busy roads and how significant the blind spots are.
Joelsim
And I own a headphone
And I own a headphone business…the advice from Music To Your Ears is not to wear headphones whilst cycling. Ever.And to treat all other road users with respect, and funnily enough that’s what you get back 99% of the time.
I can understand what Chris
I can understand what Chris is saying, ie be careful.I see cyclists bombing along all the time, taking risks etc. One guy I used to work with used to have issues regularly with traffic and peds. I have issues once every 50 trips, but then again I always expect the worst and have my hands on the brakes all the time ready to stop if needs be.
There’s sensible and there’s stupid. And yes there are stupid idiots in cars and trucks. Equally there are stupid idiots on bikes and I see them every day.
That isn’t to say that I ride at 5mph as I don’t. My 9 mile commute from Tooting to Soho takes me less than 45 minutes including stopping at every single red light and taking several back roads.
jmaccelari
Thanks for the comment – a
Thanks for the comment – a decent post.You are quite right. I have driven various heavy vehicles over the years, and with that experience I ensure that I keep well clear of the left hand side and blindspots on larger vehicles. I appreciate what they are capable of doing to me and ensure that I give them the space they require. If I stuff it up, they’re going to hurt me a lot more than I am going to hurt them.The headphones comment is spot on.
BTW, I am a 5 day-a-week commuter in London (plus a weekend wannabe road warrior) and I agree with people who state that cyclists are their own worst enemies. I see their stupid behaviour on a daily basis.
And I presume the tw@ts who are telling the HGVs to stay out of London will be the first to complain when the shelves become empty when they pop off to M&S for their lunchtime snack…
Personally I give large HGVs
Personally I give large HGVs as wide a berth as I can manage. And,no, I wouldn’t cycle up the left of them at junctions, they scare me!However, what I find more annoying are the smaller trucks that come zooming up behind me, rattling and clanking as they bounce over the speed bumps, before passing me too close and too fast and sometimes cutting right in on me. Kind of hard to ‘avoid’ them when they come up behind you at speed.
Smaller trucks seem to be generally less well driven than large ones.
But my main problem with the larger ones is how often they appear to be ‘lost’, driving round corners that are clearly far too tight for them (so they go over the pavement), or parked on the pavements on narrow roads blocking both the road and the pavement. They ought to be restricted to certain routes where they can physically fit.
Jack Osbourne snr
+1 to what Argos74 said…
+1 to what Argos74 said… Particularly paragraph 3.People are obsessed with being at the front rather than being in the most visible position… Which may actually be a vehicle or two back.
I see it every day in Glasgow and it worries me.
That’s the way it works, find
That’s the way it works, find and maintain a space where other road users can see you.Moving along blind spots on a bike, or a motor vehicle is a mugs game.
Argos74
Well, Chris82’s certainly got
Well, Chris82’s certainly got a pair of brass ones, let’s give him credit for that. And some cake to get him on board and get our feels without 7 tonnes of armour plated invulnerability around us. He feels like one of the more responsible, slightly scared lorry drivers who’s trying to not not cause harm to anyone.Unlike some of his slightly less reputable colleagues who see tonnage/hour as a competitive target like pros see wattage and bugger the consequences. There’s lots of solutions for these – taking crap fleets off the road en masse, rush hour bans, better design. To those suggesting cyclists drive a lorry for a day, remind me again how many lorry drivers have been killed in collisions with cyclists.
On the cycling side of things, I see plenty of numptiness, including some from paid up lycra commuters who really should know better. The mad dash for the ASL box or an extra five yards up the inside of a bus down the double yellows makes no blooming sense to me. Might take two minutes off my journey, might take me off my bike for a whole lot longer. At junctions and lights – take and control the lane, control the visibility, control the space. Even if it’s three spots back from the white line. I’ll still get across the junction/lights in the first wave. The more I demand, take and control that lane space, the more space and respect I get from drivers, and the better I can respond to abject bampottery.
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