Cycling in London

ribena wrote:
There is

ribena wrote:

There is absolutely no recognition of the fact that the lorries can be responsible for the accidents, nor any recognition that the huge blind spots cause problems in cities.

When safety measures for lorries are discussed, they are brushed aside as not being cost effective. Instead the RHA asks why cycle helmets aren’t more widely worn.

I did see a cement mixer truck with a rear window magnifier lens stuck to its passenger side window yesterday. I was quite impressed with that cheap and easy fix.

Whilst “staying away from
Whilst “staying away from lorries” and “not wearing headphones” are good advice, there are a number of accidents involving lorries where these played no part.

For instance..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowers_%28journalist%29
“Bowers was cycling to work at the News International building. 100 yards (91 m) from her workplace, on Dock Street, a 32 long tons (33 t) Lynch Haulage aggregate lorry pulled up behind her. The driver, Petre Beiu, was having a hands-free phone conversation at the time, and drove over her twice after forgetting to put the handbrake on.”

One of the main complaints of the CTC is that such incredibly dangerous irresponsible acts are rarely punished. The drive in the above case was fined 2700 pounds.

The haulage industry also seems reluctant to fit devices that remove the enormous (and nowadays unnecessary) blind spots on lorries. If i drove my car with half the windscreen misted up or covered in snow i’d rightly be stopped by the police, but such bad visibility is accepted as normal for large lorries.

Instead, as with the comments above, cyclists are blamed for the accidents and told to “stay away”. Hence lorries covered in stickers telling cyclists to stay back, and warning speakers announcing a vehicle is turning left.

Just take a look at their website.
http://www.rha.uk.net/information/advice_and_information/cyclist_information/content/15116/road_haulage_association_evidence_on_cycling_issues_to_london_assembly_transport_committee
http://www.rha.uk.net/docs/Evidence%20to%20London%20Assembly%20on%20cycling%2023aug2012.pdf

There is absolutely no recognition of the fact that the lorries can be responsible for the accidents, nor any recognition that the huge blind spots cause problems in cities.

When safety measures for lorries are discussed, they are brushed aside as not being cost effective. Instead the RHA asks why cycle helmets aren’t more widely worn.

Everyone is entitled to their
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but opinions like Chris82’s here do make me worry about the state of mind of some people. But since you, Chris82, actually took the time to register and are maybe even going to stick around to read the responses, I’m going to give you the benefit of doubt. Let’s go through your points one by one.

Chris82 wrote:

As one of the hated truck drivers i would like to make some comments.

There are truck drivers. And there are hated truck drivers. The latter are a minority. They are hated for good reasons, namely because they think might is right and don’t give a toss about other people, especially not cyclists. Surely you did not mean to say you’re one of those. Surely you meant to say you’re a truck driver. In which case I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that this website has some members who are also truck drivers, who – seeing as they’re also avid cyclists – will have a slightly more balanced view on the points you are raising. You may want to have a chat with them. Balanced as in they may agree with some and disagree with others.

Chris82 wrote:

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.

That is just common sense, and a majority of the cyclists I see (I commute in Edinburgh, I see a lot of them) do follow your advice. That being said, common sense is sadly not as ubiquitous as one would like – combine that with the fatally flawed “cycling infrastructure”, i.e. the “bike lane” at the left, which sometimes leads to an ASL (which I’m sure you know what it is), and you will very likely see why some people who don’t have a lot of cycling experience would be led to believe that they are actually supposed to go up the inside of your truck. It’s your responsibility to watch out for them.

Chris82 wrote:

Secondly if you wear headphones whilst riding so you can’t hear whats going on around you, well your a moron.

Do I understand you correctly that you would want to ban all deaf people from participating in traffic? Also, how does a truck that wasn’t indicating left but then is turning left after all sound different from any other truck? Tell me, I’m curious.

Chris82 wrote:

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.

This almost left me speechless. Almost. The roads aren’t designed for the traffic load but you think you can get away with driving as if they were, because “accidents are going to happen”? How does that even make sense to you?

Chris82 wrote:

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.

Oh yes, I’m quite sure that you think your job is absolutely critical to the survival of the human race. Well … it’s really not, there are a number of other ways of getting goods into large settlements, always have been and always will be. That being said, I reckon the most pragmatic approach would likely be a ban on lorries at rush hour.

To be fair though, I do of
To be fair though, I do of agree with the notion that it’s more prudent for cyclists to stay behind a truck at lights etc, rather than move up it’s left side. When I was living in the City I found this confusing, why would cyclists put themselves in danger like that. I always sat behind and sometimes got a bit of abuse from other riders for doing so/getting in the way etc.

But then I do think that in some areas it’s silly to have trucks of certain sizes going around at certain times, the proposals of shipment times being scheduled to off-peak hours might help with that.

I don’t imagine every truck driver wakes up in the morning with the desire to injure anyone, just like every bike rider doesn’t wake up in the morning expecting to be injured. We’re all just people using the road, there are definitely things we can all do to make things better. 🙂

All good advice and in other
All good advice and in other words leave a margin for error. I don’t think people have an issue with delivery drivers who tend to be career professional drivers. The problem in London is concentrated amongst the construction industry (tipper trucks/skips) and for them I’d say the speed limit is there for good reason, it is not a target, turn your bloody phone off and leave a significant margin for error. A five minute observation on Upper Thames street in the city will see all of these disregarded