HGVs in towns and cities

[dondare]

Absolute BS, go and look at some of the articles on HGV's turning left and killing a cyclist, and see where the cyclist was.

Exactly where you'd expect a cyclist to be.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Clearly many cyclists don't appreciate the danger, and every day there are more inexperienced cyclists on the roads who don't appreciate the danger. With no training or testing required how can they?

Fair point, and perhaps (as I said many pages ago) this is an argument for training to be introduced for cyclists.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Fair point, and perhaps (as I said many pages ago) this is an argument for COMMON SENSE to be introduced for cyclists.

Get a good mirror, keep out of the execution zone, and be safe.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Common sense is far from common, unfortunately.

 

[BentMikey]

Is there a law requiring a second person outside the vehicle when reversing an HGV, or is that just good H&S practice?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Is there a law requiring a second person outside the vehicle when reversing an HGV, or is that just good H&S practice?

No. Many large sites operate such a policy in theory, but in practice it's rarely observed. Equally, many companies whose premises are sited on tiny city centre back roads have no such official policy but will always send someone out to watch you in.

 

[col]

I'd give the lack of visibility from the cab as being the main cause of these accidents, and the weight of the vehicle as being the main cause of the seriousness of them. But it doesn't have to be 44 tons, a cement lorry or tipper truck is just as lethal if the driver hasn't noticed you.

You have said it yourself,there are blind spots,so not only do drivers have to look out ,but cyclists need to know about those blind spots and possible dangers>new cyclists should at least be made to do a class to have all this explained to them before going out ,its not a one way blame here,its also a cyclist putting themselves in a dangerous place,which i would say is the cause of the majority of these types of accidents,I dont believe any driver is trying to clip a cyclist in a large vehicle,its an accident that happens,so the more cyclists that keep away from them,the less accidents there would be.

 

[cycling fisherman]

so the more cyclists that keep away from them,the less accidents there would be.

no shoot sherlock

 

[dondare]

Fair point, and perhaps (as I said many pages ago) this is an argument for training to be introduced for cyclists.

Optional training and testing for cyclists already exists but probably most new bike-users won't bother with it. Compulsory training and testing would lead to fewer people bothering to cycle, therefore more congestion and pollution and a less fit, less healthy population.

 

[dondare]

Absolute BS, go and look at some of the articles on HGV's turning left and killing a cyclist, and see where the cyclist was.

I bet that for every article you can find showing that the cyclist was at fault I can find at least one where the lorry driver was.

I'll start...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...list-walks-free-court-ludicrous-275-fine.html

http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/cyclist-killing-lorry-driver-fined-300

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I bet that for every article you can find showing that the cyclist was at fault I can find at least one where the lorry driver was.

I'll start...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...list-walks-free-court-ludicrous-275-fine.html

We're not actually trying to score points here, are we? It would be a shame if this thread degenerated into a tit for tat "my mode of transprot is better than yours" type thread. No one has ever denied that sometimes the lorry driver is to blame. The important thing is, what can we do to reduce the frequency of such incidents?

 

[BentMikey]

We're not actually trying to score points here, are we? It would be a shame if this thread degenerated into a tit for tat "my mode of transprot is better than yours" type thread. No one has ever denied that sometimes the lorry driver is to blame. The important thing is, what can we do to reduce the frequency of such incidents?

I agree, and for all that for you. However Badger and Lee often try to imply that it's rarely if ever the lorry driver's fault, and that cyclists and other vulnerable road users are not their responsibility. I don't like that, and it's markedly different from your responsible approach.

 

[dondare]

We're not actually trying to score points here, are we? It would be a shame if this thread degenerated into a tit for tat "my mode of transprot is better than yours" type thread. No one has ever denied that sometimes the lorry driver is to blame. The important thing is, what can we do to reduce the frequency of such incidents?

Only allowing vehicles into cities if the design of the vehicle allows them to be used safely on small, busy roads.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Only allowing vehicles into cities if the design of the vehicle allows them to be used safely on small, busy roads.

But just think for a moment of the practicalities of that approach. It would mean many hundreds more transit vans on the roads, which would arguably lead to more cyclist deaths and injuries. Quite apart from the need to tranship goods onto smaller vehicles every trip, thereby wiping out the already precarious profits of a significant chunk of UK employers.

 

[dondare]

I agree, and for all that for you. However Badger and Lee often try to imply that it's rarely if ever the lorry driver's fault, and that cyclists and other vulnerable road users are not their responsibility. I don't like that, and it's markedly different from your responsible approach.

It doesn't help my argument to cite cases of driver negligence either, if my main point is that some designs of vehicle are inherently too dangerous to be used in town however careful the driver is trying to be.