Should truck drivers have their licences suspended for using mobile phones?‏

[glasgowcyclist]

in a way i have to agree it is mainly the responsibility of the driver but on the other hand i have driven lorry's and trying to compare the blind spots on a car to that of a lorry is silly.

I wasn't comparing the blind spots, I was highlighting the fact that the responsibility for not hitting anyone in that blind spot is the driver's.

GC

 

[stuee147]

I wasn't comparing the blind spots, I was highlighting the fact that the responsibility for not hitting anyone in that blind spot is the driver's.

GC

but if you was to stand in the inside blindspot or behind a bus or lorry and it was to hit you is that still the drivers fault even though the only way the driver can possibly see that area is for them to get out of there seat and getting out and having a look ????
i think if you are using a public highway regardless if your on foot or in a lorry it is YOUR responsibility to watch where you are and where others are. its not just the responsibility of others to watch for you, you have to watch for yourself.
its like the thread on here about someone seeing a car reversing but still carried on putting full responsibility on the car to stop which it didnt yes it was the drivers fault for not looking but at the same time the cyclist knew what the car was doing so should of made allowances for the car. i dont drive towards a brick wall hoping that the wall will move for me i have to take some responsibility for myself.
personally i think the biggest problem is if you haven't driven a lorry you dont realise just how much room you need to swing round corners ect and you dont realise just how big the blind spots are.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

but if you was to stand in the inside blindspot or behind a bus or lorry

How many variants of LGV/PSV are there on our roads? How is everyone supposed know the position and extent all of the blind spots of each of these?

...and it was to hit you is that still the drivers fault even though the only way the driver can possibly see that area is for them to get out of there seat and getting out and having a look ????

Yes.

Why on earth would a driver move his vehicle into an area where he couldn't see it to be clear? Is he doing this just with his fingers crossed that there's no-one in the way?

GC

 

[Archie_tect]

While a lorry driver has to take due care and be alert to those around him, everyone else has a responsibility to not place themselves in a vulnerable place near an articulated lorry or trailer lorry/ caravan/ bendy bus. it's just common sense which people learn by being taught, through experience or by default. Those that don't know this are the vulnerable ones but Darwin had a theory about that.

However! There are some drivers who don't drive cautiously and they are the ones that overtake/ cut up/ turn left in heavy traffic without due care or attention and that is when things get dangerous....taking their driving licence away makes the roads safer.

 

[stuee147]

its easy to know if your in a blind spot if you cant see the driver in his mirrors then he cant see you in them either common sense surely.
and a driver wouldn't move a vehicle into a bad position but its not uncommon for cars, bikes and i even seen pedestrians seeing a gap just big enough to fit and away they go now if the driver is looking into the other mirror or looking ahead (bear in mind its not like a car where you can see the mirrors in your peripheral vision ) in the second or 2 it takes for someone to slip into that gap in a busy town/city it can be a real nightmare trying to watch everywhere and people do put themselves into sill positions.
im not trying to say its not the drivers fault all im saying is that its everyone's responsibility to think and consider others and what they can and cant see.

like it says on the back of a lot of large vehicles, "If you cant see my mirrors i cant see you "

stuee

 

[Archie_tect]

GC, the only way to know a driver has seen you is to look at him/her... if you can't see him or her, don't get in the way, or, have a contingency plan to get out of the way if you need to.

The other advantage with seeing the driver of any vehicle is that you can anticipate what they are about to do by the way they are leaning, where they are looking and where their hands are placed on the steering wheel. If you can't see them, never assume it's safe.

 

[Markymark]

The fact that it is allowed that a 3 tonne lorry can drive through the narrow streets of London without being able to see directly in front or directly to the side of it shows just how ludicrous the system is.

As it stands, of course the cyclist should be aware and not do these things. What should be happening though is that laws are brought in to ensure lorries CAN see all around it.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

GC, the only way to know a driver has seen you is to look at him/her... if you can't see him or her, don't get in the way, or, have a contingency plan to get out of the way if you need to.

This takes us back to TC's point in post #31.

GC

 

[Archie_tect]

Certainly applies to the ones with any sense...

 

[Trevor_P]

A 'three tonne lorry,' is in fact a van. Lorries, these days start at 7.5 tonnes. Two axle rigid lorries can gross up to 18 tonnes with four axle artics typically 32 tonnes and six axle artics 44 tonnes.

Yes they do drive around London at these weights.

I'm giving those who care to read, a heads up regarding safety around these vehicles. I'm certainly not the best driver in the world, but I take my profession seriously. If people choose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore sensible advice, that's their choice.

Saying 'it should be the drivers responsibility' won't do you any good when you are the one laying squashed in the road. Will it?

For once, listen to the other side and take some notice, because as you point out, there plenty of drivers of there who don't try and drive the right way.

 

[Trevor_P]

Btw the extra long vehicle trials generally don't go into London, as the trailers are up to two meters longer than normal.

Look out for driverless convoy trials on our motorways soon.....

 

[theclaud]

I'm giving those who care to read, a heads up regarding safety around these vehicles.way.

Thanks, but we've heard it all before. Why don't you try giving the "heads up" to the drivers and companies who are presenting the danger, and ask them what they are going to do about it?

 

[Trevor_P]

Thanks, but we've heard it all before. Why don't you try giving the "heads up" to the drivers and companies who are presenting the danger, and ask them what they are going to do about it?

Your choice, your loss.

 

[theclaud]

Your choice, your loss.

What is my choice? Sharing the roads with unacceptably dangerous vehicles whose operators refuse to take responsibility for them? I don't think so. Besides, your advice is useless - following it won't stop people being killed, because the people doing the killing are refusing to change their behaviour.

 

[Trevor_P]

Trans: These vehicles are unfit to share OUR roads, so we expect more vulnerable road users (ie everybody) to simply stay out of the way.

It's the old argument. In order to get the goods to the shops in town, do you want one LGor twenty transit sized vans? That's twenty for every truck.
With the associated congestion, pollutio and hand gestures that accompany these.