Help me petition the PM to bring in lorry safety mirrors now

np@cyclingplus
np@cyclingplus Posts: 40
edited March 2008 in Campaign
To back up my news story in the current issue of Cycling Plus, I've started a petition on 10 Downing Street's site to ask for life saving legislation on lorry safety mirrors to be brought in now - this could save 18 cyclist lives a year!

Please sign up and help us create a bit of a stink.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/HGV-mirrors/

All the best, Neil, Deputy Editor, Cycling Plus

Comments

  • eternal_headwind
    eternal_headwind Posts: 222
    I have lost faith in the ePetition system, but will support you nonetheless
  • np@cyclingplus
    np@cyclingplus Posts: 40
    I totally understand and probably share your cynicism E_h, but since it's there, we might as well use it to publicly bang a drum that's well worth banging. If no one's listens, then we've got a magazine and website that are read by tens of thousands, where we can bang that drum too. If you get what I mean...

    Put simply, if we publicly gather significant support on the PM's site, we can use that for leverage elsewhere.

    Thanks for your support though.

    Neil
  • eternal_headwind
    eternal_headwind Posts: 222
    While I was on the ePetition website, I took the opportunity to look at other petitions that may influence cyclists.
    I also signed up to one asking for a greater integration of cycling awareness in the driving test and a campaign to ban smoking whilst driving.

    All of these petitions have exceeded the limit for autorejection, meaning that they now have to be read by a human being at number 10 (please, no comments about that being an oxymoron)

    Neil has a good point insofar as he says that if we do no speak then we will not be heard. And I would like to point out that speaking amongst ourselves does not count.

    This forum is called the campaign section, but what have we acheived? What change in the law / motorist attitudes / road safety initiative can we point to as being our work?

    Perhaps if we consider the smoking whilst driving proposed ban. It is not a unique cycling issue, there is almost certainly a safety issue, the government loves the revenue and wishes to have a healthier workforce.

    From the cyclist point of view it might be another method by which we can educate drivers that what they do in their cars is both visible and accountable i.e. it breaks threir 'personal space' bubble

    Am I wrong to think this?
  • ThePiglit
    ThePiglit Posts: 94
    I used to be an HGV driver. Not sure what mirrors you are talking about. Construction and use regulations specify that mirrors now incorporate ones that give a an excellent view. Mirrors can also only be as much use as the observation skills of the driver though and one is tempted to point to the sadly frequent reckless actions of "cyclists" who undertake HGVs in a hazardous manner.
    No, sorry, all vehicle users are wrong and all cyclists are always always right.

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