Left turning lorries -Write to your MP

[glenn forger]

Driver Paul-Ioan Mihacea, 29, who was working for Hackney-based haulage firm McGrath, is due to appear at Blackfriars crown court on November 13 to face a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...lorry-hails-medic-who-saved-her-a3087656.html

 

[Lonestar]

Problem is that without knowing how she ended up on the inside of a turning lorry, it's impossible to say whether or not she had made cycling very dangerous indeed.

Take primary at junctions guys....

If in doubt keep out of the way.I've met some real bonehead lorry drivers recently driving too fast and too aggressively.Southwark Bridge's 20 sign painted in the road doesn't seem to mean much.Yes it happens.Lorry drivers like cyclists vary in their competency also.

TBH honest I wouldn't feel safe taking primary with some meathead behind me. (and never secondary)

 

[icowden]

The key bit for me is:-

The police did forensic tests on the vehicle and they could see that I could be seen for 14 seconds leading up to the crash.”

Last week the court heard Mihacea, a Romanian who lives in West Ham, was on a hands-free phone a minute before the crash. It was unknown whether he was still on the call at the moment of collision. The accident happened as his lorry turned left at the junction of Clerkenwell Road and St John Street. The vehicle’s sensors failed to detect Ms Lebrec’s presence because Mihacea had delayed using his indicators.

So it seems fairly clear that although the driver was careless with his left turn, the cyclist had placed herself to the left of the lorry. Personally I would never place myself to the left of an HGV. I'm reluctant to do so when there is a clear cycle lane. I'd rather hang back. In a bike box I make sure I can see the driver's eyes and that he or she has seen me.

Yes, some drivers are too fast , too aggressive, but there are too many cyclists who take risks that they don't need to take, whether it's cycling between two double decker busses or going up the inside of HGVs.

 

[Drago]

I wouldn't go alongside an HGV in a car unless it was at traffic lights or I could complete the overtake immediately. That's the death zone for any smaller vehicle.

 

[theclaud]

The key bit for me is:-

The police did forensic tests on the vehicle and they could see that I could be seen for 14 seconds leading up to the crash.”

Last week the court heard Mihacea, a Romanian who lives in West Ham, was on a hands-free phone a minute before the crash. It was unknown whether he was still on the call at the moment of collision. The accident happened as his lorry turned left at the junction of Clerkenwell Road and St John Street. The vehicle’s sensors failed to detect Ms Lebrec’s presence because Mihacea had delayed using his indicators.

So it seems fairly clear that although the driver was careless with his left turn, the cyclist had placed herself to the left of the lorry. Personally I would never place myself to the left of an HGV. I'm reluctant to do so when there is a clear cycle lane. I'd rather hang back. In a bike box I make sure I can see the driver's eyes and that he or she has seen me.

Yes, some drivers are too fast , too aggressive, but there are too many cyclists who take risks that they don't need to take, whether it's cycling between two double decker busses or going up the inside of HGVs.

Is there some new development in this case, and if so could you post a link?

And quit the victim-blaming, please - he had 14 seconds to see her before his inattention cost her her leg, and almost her life.

 

[icowden]

No new development. That was from press reporting of the case. Also no victim blaming.
It is absolutely true that he had 14 seconds to be aware of her. However it is also true that she was on the inside of the truck.
Why she was there, we don't know. It is however also true that the left side of an HGV is a bad place to be.

 

[Markymark]

No new development. That was from press reporting of the case. Also no victim blaming.
It is absolutely true that he had 14 seconds to be aware of her. However it is also true that she was on the inside of the truck.
Why she was there, we don't know. It is however also true that the left side of an HGV is a bad place to be.

Like those idiot kids in schools who get shot when there's an active shooter who don't run away quickly enough. It is true they got shot by a murderer. It is also true that in the firing line of a shooter is a bad place to be. 50/50 I'd say.

 

[Drago]

 

[icowden]

MarkyMark, your analogy fails unless the kids elected to go to a school where there was a known active shooter. You are also mixing up an active threat with a passive accident.

In this case it is clear that the Truck driver indicated late in a moment of carelessness. The driver showed remorse and reconciled with the victim. It's also fairly clear that the court case was mostly the result of the need to obtain compensation from the Truck driver's insurance company. if he is found guilty of careless driving then there is an automatic fault finding and she gets compensation.

Many layers to this.

 

[johnnyb47]

Just last week i noticed an outside contractor doing some work on our new trucks. He had spaghetti load of wires strewn all over the place and was slowly organising them up. Being a nosey old bugger i asked what he was doing
Apparently he was fitting them up with cameras, sensors and warning speakers to the left hand side to the trucks.
There were to warn cyclists/pedestrians it's turning left, and to alert the driver of anything in there blind spot.
I'm a bit behind on any new laws and rules, but the guy fitting them said any hgv entering London will have to apply for a permit to prove its fitted with these safety items. If they enter without them the company will get fined (i think he said) £500 and the driver £80.