Left turning lorries -Write to your MP

[Origamist]

Posted by the sister of Eilidh Cairns who was killed by a HGV in Notting Hill earlier this year.


TODAY FRIDAY 3 JULY - PROTEST - Crown Prosecution Service - Reading and London?
"Sorry Mate I didnt See You (SMIDSY)" is cutting it with the Crown Prosecution, when a driver of a vehicle mows down and kills a cyclist.

If you think that this isnt good enough, please consider joining this protest at Reading CPS tomorrow, Friday 3rd July.
It would be great if a parallel protest was carried out at the London CPS. (50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX).
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x...earchp=ids.srf

Sadly there have been serveral cyclists killed in London this year already.
I dont know how to contact the family and friends of those other victims.
I am not in London but if anyone is in the position of encouraging people to turn up at the London CPS that would be great.
Might be a good idea to liaise with Adrian (see below).

I am desparately trying to get Eilidh's case to court so the driver doesnt just walk away and continue this precedent.
The case should be going to the London CPS any day now and they will decide what action to take.
In light of the precedent set, I am expecting zero action.
Please forward as much as you can. Many thanks.
Kate
---------------------------------------
Sorry this is really short notice, but I have been offline for a while
See the details of our action below:-
This Friday (3 July) is the 1st anniversary of the death of local cyclist Anthony Maynard.
Anthony was cycling between Henley and Bix when he was struck from behind by a van driver who claimed in his defence that he didn't see Anthony.
Anthony was with another local cyclist who was seriously injured.
The Crown prosecution service decided not to prosecute the driver, and this decision has left any vehicle driver who kills a cyclist to simply say I didn't see him or her and get away scot free.
This is of course an outrageous decision, but there is no option to appeal. So left with no choice Reading Cycling club (of which Anthony was a long term member) are organising a protest outside the office of the Crown prosecution service at Eaton Court, 112 Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 7LL.

The CPS offices are close to the town centre, at the very start of the Oxford Road:
The cycling club and friends of Anthony would like to invite any cyclists to join us in this protest.
We will meet at 4 pm, and the protest will last about 10 minutes. Please come along, and spread the word.
adrian lawson

 

[Origamist]

The issue of HGVs, cyclists and fatal crashes will be one of the subjects on Wednesday's edition of Woman's Hour - BBC Radio4 at 10am.

 

[cycling fisherman]

* Some kind of ad campaign (backs of buses?) telling cyclists not to go up the inside of lorries

better still a mandatory retro fit high visability sign to all vehicles 7.5 T and over stuck on the rear of the vehicle. "cyclists keep clear of vehicle"

btw i am a class 1 driver.

 

[Banjo]

I think a bit of self-preservation is called for.

If you get to the junction first, then put yourself in a very strong primary position, so that no-one (car, truck, bus etc) can pull alongside your rhs.

If there are already vehicles stopped at the junction, irrespective of what type of vehicle it might be, DON'T feel tempted to cycle up the inside, even if there is a cycle filter lane and an ASL. You have no idea what frame of mind the driver at the front of the queue is in: he might be half asleep, on the phone, in a tearing hurry to get his load dropped off. Better to be safe than sorry. Stay in the traffic lane, in primary, and wait your turn. You're better off behind a truck, than in front of it.

That's not to say I don't fully support the concerns in this thread, and I will be writing to my MP. But it will take ages for anything to happen, and in the meantime I want to stay safe.

Absolutely agree James, we have to live(ride)in the world as it is.Yes its a good idea to campaign for more publiocity to cyclists dangers etc but we have to be realistic, tired / incompetent/ drunk drivers are a fact of life.

 

[xpc316e]

The removal of railings would lead to complications with pedesrians wandering around willy-nilly in the traffic. That's why they are placed where they are - they are not put there to increase the number of cyclists who get killed. Telegraph poles and lampposts are not put around the outside edge of bends to ensure that a goodly number of motorcyclists meet their Maker either. The railings are necessary from other points of view and we need to ride in the real world as it is - not as we would in an ideal world designed entirely for our convenience. I am more sorry than most about the deaths on our roads, but we need to make new riders (and some more experienced ones, it seems) more aware of the dangers of larger vehicles. Just because one does not need a licence for a bike, or to pass a test to be allowed to ride one, most people think that training is therefore unnecessary. That is wrong for a lot of people who do not have the correct mindset when on a bike. My safety when on a road is primarily a matter for me - I will not entrust others with my well-being. I refuse to gamble with my life in an altercation with a truck and a set of railings, so I make sure that I am nowhere near the things.

 

[Origamist]

The removal of railings would lead to complications with pedesrians wandering around willy-nilly in the traffic. That's why they are placed where they are - they are not put there to increase the number of cyclists who get killed. Telegraph poles and lampposts are not put around the outside edge of bends to ensure that a goodly number of motorcyclists meet their Maker either. The railings are necessary from other points of view and we need to ride in the real world as it is - not as we would in an ideal world designed entirely for our convenience. I am more sorry than most about the deaths on our roads, but we need to make new riders (and some more experienced ones, it seems) more aware of the dangers of larger vehicles. Just because one does not need a licence for a bike, or to pass a test to be allowed to ride one, most people think that training is therefore unnecessary. That is wrong for a lot of people who do not have the correct mindset when on a bike. My safety when on a road is primarily a matter for me - I will not entrust others with my well-being. I refuse to gamble with my life in an altercation with a truck and a set of railings, so I make sure that I am nowhere near the things.

Have you read the most recent report on guard railings? It does not sound like it:

"Thus, while there is no conclusive evidence that the inclusion of pedestrian guardrailing at any type of pedestrian crossing or junction has any statistically significant effect on the safety record, there is certainly an effect on pedestrian behaviour, especially where traffic flows are relatively low; the volume of traffic may be one of the main factors affecting pedestrian behaviour at junctions and pedestrian crossings."​

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/ltnotes/ltn209pedestrian.pdf

 

[xpc316e]

Well thanks for the link; now that I have read it, I have to say that it doesn't make much difference. It will take years before guardrailings are removed (if ever), so I shall not change the way I ride. The report seems to make it clear that railings are the correct solution to adopt at some locations, so why not make sure cyclists are aware of the dangers caused by them? Knowing what I know about life in general, if railings are removed it will not be too many years before someone reinvents the wheel and brings them back.

It needs to be stated that some cyclists will still die because of their proximity to larger vehicles long after all railings have been ripped up. Ripping out railings is not the answer - changing how people ride would be part of the solution.

 

[Riding in Circles]

At the risk of being flamed, a lot of the issues are caused by cyclists hugging the gutter, there is no requirement for training for cyclists before being allowed on the roads so it is primarily up to the cycling community to educate its members as to how to cycle safely, if a cyclist is riding further out as they approach a junction then even if a truck passes then left hooks, the cyclist has space to go somewhere. If you are in the gutter or worse you ride up the inside of a stationary truck then you are riding in a way that endangers you and while I don't think anyone deserves to be killed for the mistake, it is contributory to the incidents.

 

[sidevalve]

Interesting to note that on another thread a lorry turning left across a bus lane was defended by members of this forum simply because the " victims" would have been m/cyclists and not cyclists [on that occasion anyway]. However more to the point "victim" blaming is garbage, you make yourself a victim or you take control of your life, accept reality and become a survivor. Too many have the "OH it was somebody else's fault" idea, it aint a perfect world. Keep yourself safe.

 

[Grumble]

Look to state the obvious there should always be a clear area in front of the traffic so that at the traffic lights both lorry and car drivers can register our presence, and I believe we should have our own set of traffic lights which would enable us to get started before the rest. And although it presents difficulties our cycle lanes should be protected by solid kerb stones. More and more speed humps but with a narrow space for us to get through.

 

[Licramite]

well I think lorries should only be allowed to drive around the country - clockwise - so they can only turn right. that should solve the problem.

 

[Spinney]

Look to state the obvious there should always be a clear area in front of the traffic so that at the traffic lights both lorry and car drivers can register our presence, and I believe we should have our own set of traffic lights which would enable us to get started before the rest. And although it presents difficulties our cycle lanes should be protected by solid kerb stones. More and more speed humps but with a narrow space for us to get through.

But lorries have quite a big blind spot right in front of them - if the driver didn't see you arrive in front of the lorry, he/she may not see you if the area is right next to the stop line.

Solid kerb stones - unless the bike lanes are really wide, this is likely to prevent one cyclist overtaking a slower one, which will result in the cycle lane not being used (as many are not at present, but at least at the moment you can move in and out of them as traffic requires).

 

[XRHYSX]

I cycle to work, I have a full motorcycle licence and car licence with full HGV entitlement.
I have all the mirrors that I should have on my lorry,
I have to venture into LDN from time to time for work and the amount of pushbikes and motorcycles that creep up on you is scary. Sometimes I have to be in the right hand lane to turn left and vice-versa, when I come to traffic at junctions I have to have a 45ft gap in front to clear that junction, the amount of cars that fill that gap for me is disappointing

Anyway I digress
The mind set I like to use on the road, whether I'm on foot, cycling, riding the motorcycle, driving or even in the lorry is that everyone is out to kill you! watch out for the idiots, its no good being DEAD right, imo

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Raise the HGV test to above that of degree level and get some educated decent human beings behind the wheels instead of aggressive riff raff. Lorry drivers are arrogant, ignorant and irresponsible for the most part. Stop recruiting from the football terraces.

 

[Kies]

Raise the HGV test to above that of degree level and get some educated decent human beings behind the wheels instead of aggressive riff raff. Lorry drivers are arrogant, ignorant and irresponsible for the most part. Stop recruiting from the football terraces.

I know 3 lorry drivers ..... They are NOTHING like what you describe above!