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Broken bike (CC licensed image by garryknight, www.flickr.com)Two London cyclists killed in past 36 hours - tipper truck involved in 2nd incident
Two cyclists have been killed in London over the past 36 hours, bringing the number of riders to have lost their lives in the capital this year to eight. A driver was arrested following the death of a man in Harrow in the early hours of Sunday morning and a woman was killed in an incident involving a tipper truck at Bank Junction in the City of London at rush hour this morning.
A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service told the London Evening Standard that paramedics were called to this morning’s incident at the junction of Threadneedle Street and Prince’s Street at 9am.
She added: "We sent a number of resources to the scene including an ambulance crew, a single responder in a car and London's Air Ambulance. We remain at the scene."
City of London Police confirmed in a tweet sent at 9.46am that the woman had died. In response, Twitter user Fiona Booth said: “I saw this happen on my cycle to work this morning. Heartbreaking.”
The victim is the eighth cyclist to have been killed in London so far this year, with large vehicles involved in all but one of those fatal crashes, the exception being the one that claimed the life of a 60-year-old man in Harrow at the weekend.
London Ambulance Service called the Metropolitan Police to the scene at Forward Drive at 0004 hours on Sunday 21 June.
The victim, a 60-year-old man named as Clifton James, had what police described as “serious head injuries” and was pronounced dead an hour later. His next-of-kin have been informed. James was cycling home from work in Harrow, and was just yards from home when the collision occurred.
The driver of the vehicle involved, a 31-year-old man, stopped at the scene of the incident and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
He has been bailed to a date in mid-September while police continue their investigation.
The incident is being handled by officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Alperton Traffic Garage and anyone who saw it or has information is asked to call police on 020 8991 9555 or the charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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67 comments
Philbo - if you see behaviour which you think worth complaining about involving vehicle with a FORS sticker, you can complain to FORS.
We were involved with a campaign re-misues of warning stickers (where complaining has so far not worked http://rdrf.org.uk/2015/05/06/cyclists-stay-back-stickers-is-transport-f... ) , but see what happens when you complain anyway - the details are here: http://rdrf.org.uk/2015/03/05/cyclists-stay-back-stickers-something-you-... . They have 28 working days - nearly 6 weeks to answer, so no breath holding.
Do let us know how you get on...
Of the 8 deaths in London there have been 6 females and two male. This is not representatative of the number of cyclists on the roads from my fairly frequent visits to London. We do need to solve the large vehicle issue but also why are females so much more likely to be hit?
It may be males are more forceful / keep to middle of the lane and not allow themselves to be boxed in? If deaths were in proportion to male riders then 5 or 6 more females would be alive today (I accept that is a bit simplistic).
I do cycle in cities very much as where I live I can use good bike paths.
On the open road I would rather take my chances with big HGV's then the frankly dangerous white van man who thinks he is the next Lewis Hamilton but without the skill. The stunts they pull.........
Surely political lobbying is the answer to get the law changed?
As one of the earlier posters pointed out it would make a lot of sense to change the law so that HGV's could only drive in the City at night.
With regard to cycle survival in London, on a bike you do have the option to get off and walk/push. Also route choice is another way of optimising your survival. There are several routes I would always avoid, (Bethnal Green Rd on market day for example), but the beauty of London is that there are always quieter and less frenetic choices available. There are also some junctions I just get a bad feeling about and if I can't avoid them, then I will sometimes just get off and cross like a pedestrian and then remount on the other side.
I don't know if it was the case in any of the London deaths this year, but as a daily London commuter one of the biggest dangers I face is cars and lorries not indicating and then turning left. As a cyclist you have to assume that someone may turn left without indicating but the volume of traffic and the number of potential turns makes this very difficult to manage, so inevitably you tend to rely on vehicles using indicators as they should. I think a significant public awareness campaign to encourage people to use indicators in good time (not as you start to turn).
You make a good point blackhound, It would suggest that riding style has a bearing on our safety.
I'm not sure exactly what the number is this year, but the overwhelming majority of deaths are also caused by tipper trucks. There are loads of different types of trucks being driven through London each day, but its tipper trucks doing all the killing.
From my experience with tipper trucks is that when turning left they take a wide arc, which if they're not indicating can sometimes suggest to other road users that they are going straight ahead. When they do then turn, they turn very quickly, far quicker than you would expect for such a large vehicle which catches people out.
Further to that, some (not all) of the drivers behave like absolute thugs on the road, just like the stereotypical white van man.
Trouble with that, its highly disruptive to those HGVs who operate safely and also the economy. You rarely ever hear of a supermarket delivery lorries killing cyclists, or long articulated lorries etc
Using the same route everyday I have become familiar with where motorists usually do this.
My experience is that it is more common when a motorist has joined my route into the city from a side road from the right and is then turning left at the next available opportunity.
A possible explanation is that roads tend to radiate out from the centre of cities, so a motorist entering from the right may be trying to drive radially around the city so may be more likely to turn left immediately afterwards.
Whilst indicators are helpful (except on scooters where they seem to get left on!) there are other behaviours (for example even slight drifting and the angle relative to the road) that can suggest that the motorist is turning left soon. I try to use all available cues to make a judgement. With buses it is very easy because the routes are fixed, you get to know where the stops are, and if the bus doesn’t normally stop there it is possible to look to see if anyone is standing up in the bus by the doors waiting to get off. With other vehicles much more caution is needed.
Of course this goes against the article here a while back that suggested we should vary our routes...
Tipper trucks have a large turning circle.
I respect your POV but I very much doubt that Paris' economy is suffering due to great big trucks being forced to drive at night.
London's and presumably other cities streets are already suffering from massive overcrowding so it would massively ease the congestion to force the freight and heavy haulage to travel at night. It would have the added benefit of keeping commuting cyclists and HGV's apart.
So do articulated lorries, coaches, and the new (Boris?) buses. They still have to get the tractor unit well clear of the kerb before they can initiate they turn. Is this really the issue?
I agree with your solution if it were to ban tipper trucks from central london at peak hours, but you'd be hard pushed to present an argument for other HGV types which rarely cause accidents in comparison.
I see no difference at all in the vehicle type, one bloomin big HGV truck is the same as another when your being forced into the gutter by it as far as I can tell.
I would take great comfort in knowing that the supermarket still had a full supply of Pasties and Crisps as I watched my leg being amputated from between the back wheels of an Articulated lorry - NOT!
Bus routes are worked out so that the buses don't have to swing out too much when making a turn. You should try driving a four axle tipper truck (of road of course) it really gives you an understanding as to how big a turning circle they need and how large the blind spots are.
There are solutions to make them safer and alert drivers to the presence of vulnerable road users and as pointed out elsewhere, at around £600 a time it's not expensive. Some companies, the responsible ones, fit this kit but most don't. Maybe it would be easier to require all tipper trucks to have the kit to be used in London and for all tipper truck drivers working in London to have had their licences checked properly and to have undergone cycle/vulnerable road user training.
London is expanding fast and the flow of tipper trucks into the city is not going to stop as the pace of construction is high. Ensuring those trucks in operation are safe can be done. Some firms have shown how. It's more a question of political will.
I respect your POV but I very much doubt that Paris' economy is suffering due to great big trucks being forced to drive at night.
London's and presumably other cities streets are already suffering from massive overcrowding so it would massively ease the congestion to force the freight and heavy haulage to travel at night. It would have the added benefit of keeping commuting cyclists and HGV's apart.
@philbo
any knowledge experience of FORS (I see this sticker on many HGV operating in London)?
No idea if its actually effective, as I often see FORS labelled HGV paying little attention to red lights and ASL in London
And then of course we have the smaller vehicles like this Veolia / LB Tower Hamlets refuse truck, which was driving quite freely down CS3 after the driver had caused a female cyclist to crash, told other cyclists to eff off when they took him to task..he then got back in the vehicle with his refuse crew and carried on driving
and other commercial vehicles like internet shopping delivery vans, who just seem to park wherever they like, even if its in a segregated cycle lane
Site health and safety has reached beyond the fences of construction sites inLondon in many cases. Contractors and sub contractors working for TfL and many other taxpayer funded organisations are required to ensure they manage their Work Related Road Risk. I.e. They are responsible for the safety of vehicles to and from sites. Have a look at Clocs, the TfL initiative developed to manage WRRR on projects like Crossrail. It focuses on ensuring drivers of tippers have all received training on Vulnerable users and that vehicles have additional mirrors, side rails etc. If vehicles and drivers don't adhere to these standards they are turned away from site.
I work near a quarry where many of these tipper trucks pick up their gravel & i know from experience there is a lot of poor driving. I have been actively bullied (whilst driving an SUV) by some of these drivers a number of times. Plus, as many paid by the load this contributes to bad practice & speeding/lack of attention.
One of these poor victims was featured on 'an hour to save your life' a couple of weeks ago & it was unbelievable the efforts the ambulance medics put in to try save her life, chapeau to them and :
BASTARDS to the crap drivers, legislators, etc etc responsible for so much HGV traffic on our city roads, especially in rush hour.
As reiterated by many many others STOP TALKING AND GET SOMETHING(S) ACTUALLY CHANGED
What I don't understand is how Health & Safety legislation works? I commute past a large building site in Victoria every day. There are always 10 people in hi-vis jackets standing at the entrance to the site monitoring the gate. When a vehicle comes e.g., Tipper Truck, sirens are sounded, all work stops and the 10 people guide the vehicle into the site till it parks.
Yet, that same vehicle has just been driven through Central London to get to the site with the driver probably juggling a mobile phone, satnav and a coffee.
@hampstead_bandit
HSE Law is pretty broad and varied on site but as an example there are a number of duties to protect the public outlined here:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/publicprotection.htm
It is notable that there.is a duty to protect the public from dangers arising from vehicles entering and leaving the site. Thereafter the HSE legislation washes its hands. The amendment and broadening of this legislation to protect the public from cowboy tipper trucks is well overdue in my humble opinion
So are only hope for an improvement of this horrific situation is for Boris to end under the wheels of a tipper truck then somebody might do something about it.
I can full get full get behind this idea on so many levels, come on Boris, take one for the team and all that.
@arfa
the comment about the HSE overseeing safe practice on construction sites is interesting.
Does this mean that a contractor driving an unroadworthy vehicle onto a construction site is in breach of contract?
Is there a legal requirement for site vehicles to be roadworthy?
(as they use roads to get onto, and off the site, unless its a specific site vehicle like a bulldozer operating strictly on a landfill site)
Following on from YorkshireMike's comments wasn't there a programme on tipper lorries a few years back which showed how many pickups and drop offs they did each day and how drivers were being overworked by a few unscrupulous companies? Combine an over stuffed time table with lorries that are over powered when empty and it's little wonder someone isn't getting run over every day.
Our local skip firm drivers are terrible. They scare me when I see them in the rear view mirror when driving - let alone when I hear that clang of an empty skip lorry behind me when I'm on the bike.
Yes indeed, skippers and tippers. The crash statistics for these two categories of HGVs were identified as being terrible 20 years ago or more. And what has been done? Well, nothing really.
its getting mainstream coverage, the Evening Standard is read by a huge number of daily readers including stakeholders, decision makers, politicans and whatnot, so hopefully something positive can come of these terrible headline, to stop it happening so frequently
They should release every Police investigation into the public. A small gesture to bring clarity to each tragedy.
@hampstead_bandit I despair just like you. Short of blockading the HSE offices on Southwark Bridge I am at a loss.
Ironically these offices are just next to one of the few cycle lanes physically segregating cyclists from the tipper trucks prevalent on that route, presumably so the HSE folk don't get to see the results of their inaction.
It is not the HSE that is responsible for investigating Road Traffic incidents. It is a Police matter.
[/quote]
It is not the HSE that is responsible for investigating Road Traffic incidents. It is a Police matter.[/quote]
I am fully aware of this. However the HSE do oversee site and operator safety and their remit must be broadened out to weed out cowboy operators and practices. To argue the general public does not deserve anything close to the level of protection on site is unacceptable. A blind eye has been turned for far too long.
Yet another Tipper truck v female cyclist tragedy.
It is getting ridiculous now.
There isn't going to be safe infrastructure throught London anytime soon.
It is good that more women are cycling.
Therefore, unless we are prepared to put up with this state of affairs, we need a campaign to remind cyclists NOT to pay undue attention to road markings, and a bigger one to get tipper truck drivers to pay attention to cyclists.
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