Solution to truck deaths

[aberal]

Interesting article picked up via Twitter. http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/cyc...when-solution-easy-mandatory-side-guards.html

 

[PK99]

Interesting article picked up via Twitter. http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/cyc...when-solution-easy-mandatory-side-guards.html

not a solution at all - not all deaths are from being dragged under the rear wheels.

Never position yourself to the side of a lorry in the same lane and you avoid the risk completly

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

not a solution at all - not all deaths are from being dragged under the rear wheels.

Never position yourself to the side of a lorry in the same lane and you avoid the risk completly

I'd say it is a solution - one of many - not the solution. IIRC, there are construction site vehicles that are exempt from having side guards. It would be worth examining just how spurious the justification for that is.

 

[ufkacbln]

not a solution at all - not all deaths are from being dragged under the rear wheels.

Never position yourself to the side of a lorry in the same lane and you avoid the risk completly

Many of the deaths have been caused by the lorry putting itself on the outside of the cyclists!

 

[PK99]

Many of the deaths have been caused by the lorry putting itself on the outside of the cyclists!

.... after the cylclist pulled up on the left of the lane?

Follow the guidance of cyclecraft and stop in primary position, do not allow any vehicle to share the same lane alongside you

 

[dellzeqq]

.... after the cylclist pulled up on the left of the lane?

yes

 

[ufkacbln]

That is exactly what I mean.

It was suggested that this was one of the reasons why females were moe highly represented in the casualty figures. The theory was that male riders tended to ride in the primary and block an HGV taking the position to the right, and female riders kept to the kerb and hence the HGV could pull alongside.

It is not that simple, and there are lots of other factors, but both groups need to b aware of others.

 

[Bromptonaut]

I'd say it is a solution - one of many - not the solution. IIRC, there are construction site vehicles that are exempt from having side guards. It would be worth examining just how spurious the justification for that is.

I'm afraid there probably is a justification. Pass a couple of big construction sites on the commute and the rough ground the tippers traverse has to be seen to be believed. Must be same or more so where they go to drop off @ landfill.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm afraid there probably is a justification. Pass a couple of big construction sites on the commute and the rough ground the tippers traverse has to be seen to be believed. Must be same or more so where they go to drop off @ landfill.

In which case, I'd want to see what risks are involved on site and whether it's simply a question of exporting that risk to the public highways without having to improve safety, on or off road.

 

[CopperCyclist]

I'm afraid there probably is a justification. Pass a couple of big construction sites on the commute and the rough ground the tippers traverse has to be seen to be believed. Must be same or more so where they go to drop off @ landfill.

It's probably simple to design a mechanism to draw up the side protection for off road use. Unfortunately like other life saving concepts its probably not financially viable enough for any private company to research and design it.

 

[Bromptonaut]

It's probably simple to design a mechanism to draw up the side protection for off road use. Unfortunately like other life saving concepts its probably not financially viable enough for any private company to research and design it.

Thinking about this some more the side protection on artics etc isn't there for ped/cyclist safety; they're tough enough to shove a car out of the way. Would be difficult to build that sort of strength into something retractable. In fact I've some doubt side protectors are any use at all in cycle accidents. I've seen the aftermath of a couple of the fatals in the last 6/7 years. Both were around Holborn and involved artics on supermarket or similar delivery.

 

[dellzeqq]

I'm afraid there probably is a justification. Pass a couple of big construction sites on the commute and the rough ground the tippers traverse has to be seen to be believed. Must be same or more so where they go to drop off @ landfill.

while I accept CopperCyclist's greater wisdom on this - if Cemex can do it, why can't the others?

 

[summerdays]

Follow the guidance of cyclecraft and stop in primary position, do not allow any vehicle to share the same lane alongside you

My closest call with a lorry I was in primary in one lane (a bus lane) and the lorry moved left into the lane to park on double yellow lines. There was nothing else I could have done to increase my safety, luckily I was observant and hit the brakes and dived for the side of the road. The driver apologised.

Never position yourself to the side of a lorry in the same lane and you avoid the risk completly

So it is impossible to avoid the risk entirely.

 

[classic33]

Feasable or not, someone is looking at them.

"3. Bodybuilders for N2/N3 vehicles (multi-stage build vehicles)
Currently bodies can be added to chassis cabs and no additional approval is required before registration. From the date below, the entire vehicle including the body will be subject to approval. The body itself is not subject to a specific approval but certain aspects of it will be assessed - for example, lights mounted on it, rear and side under-run guards, whether it restricts the rear view mirror field of view and if it affects the overall dimensions of the vehicle."

Taken from the top of the 4th page
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/additiona...ties/secure-registration/n2-n3-transition.pdf

 

[Melonfish]

tbh i never travel up the left side of large vehicles full stop, regardless of moving traffic or lights or what. blind spots on those things are nasty. if you can overtake safely then fine if not sit behind it and draft!