Fresnel Lenses for Lorries...

phil_ss1

Hi,

Just seen this (12/3/2008) on the BBC news site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi ... /img/1.jpg

Should these be made law?

Phil
missing my bike due to weather...
but off to Lanzarote next week and I'm hiring a bike over there + 8)

Anonymous

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/o ... gvs--14997

karl j

good morning

i've seen a couple of these on lorries around here recently and thought they looked new. The question occurs to me now seeing from what is presumably inside the cab - how big is the blind spot they create, and is it big enough (or in such a place) to 'lose' a cyclist in ? . say, before pulling out at a T junction

btw, there's a e-petition thread in Campaign calling for HGV blind spot mirrors

snooks

karl j wrote:

how big is the blind spot they create, and is it big enough (or in such a place) to 'lose' a cyclist in ? . say, before pulling out at a T junction

It's big enough to loose a car!...let alone a cyclist.

A lot of motorway incidents involve cars pulling onto motorways and into a lorry/trucks blind spot and the driver not seeing them, thinking it's clear and pulling back into the 1st lane.

Like wise if they are left hand drives, they can't always see a car over taking on the right hand side and can pull out into them. I see it all the time.

I saw 5th gear do something on it years ago

So this problem isn't just limited to cyclists

mediamonkey

I think Karl meant the blond spot created by the lens?

In which case as I understand it, there isn't one, because the fresnel lens acts as a "wide-angle" lens which shows things that would normally be out of view e.g. below the window, but also shows stuff that is directly behind the lens. In other words, the rectangle of the fresnel lens shows a smaller version of a much bigger rectangle, so in fact you are not creating a blind spot "behind" the lens. If that makes sense...

Although having looked at the picture, it does seem that there is a bit of a blind spot - it's hard to tell!

snooks

mediamonkey wrote:

I think Karl meant the blond spot created by the lens?

Ah....Yes, see what you mean :roll:

I think you'd be able to see at least part of a cyclist in the window around the lens, and from the angle the photograph was take the driver should be able to see more (the camera looks quite close so it would block out a larger blindspot

just IMHO of course :0)

tardington

While we're here - on the back of the buses, they have a wee thing to pull, or a handle for the engine cover; apparently pulling it will "cause emergency cut out" - does that actually work?

Not out of badness, really!

cee

tardie wrote:

While we're here - on the back of the buses, they have a wee thing to pull, or a handle for the engine cover; apparently pulling it will "cause emergency cut out" - does that actually work?

Not out of badness, really!

Yip....its an emergency fuel cut off switch. The engine stops as soon as the fuel in the fuel line is used

On some buses, its a button on the offside, about oooooh the height of an average sized person standing on pedals with their left hand signalling left ahem.........

:roll:

Alibran

cee wrote:

tardie wrote:

While we're here - on the back of the buses, they have a wee thing to pull, or a handle for the engine cover; apparently pulling it will "cause emergency cut out" - does that actually work?

Not out of badness, really!

Yip....its an emergency fuel cut off switch. The engine stops as soon as the fuel in the fuel line is used

On some buses, its a button on the offside, about oooooh the height of an average sized person standing on pedals with their left hand signalling left ahem.........

:roll:

And you wonder why bus drivers don't like cyclists.

Alibran

As far as the blind spot lens is concerned, I've driven a smallish lorry that had a mirror above the passenger window, angled down, that was much more effective. Between that and the other two mirrors on that side (the normal mirror, and the smaller one below it) you could totally eliminate blind spots on that side of the vehicle.

tardington

Alibran wrote:

And you wonder why bus drivers don't like cyclists.

Well, I never have planned to pull it - I was just curious - honest!

Alibran

tardie wrote:

Well, I never have planned to pull it - I was just curious - honest!

Yeah, yeah ...

tardington

Alibran wrote:

tardie wrote:

Well, I never have planned to pull it - I was just curious - honest!

Yeah, yeah ...

Now I feel I HAVE to - for your sake only...

Will send you a pm telling what happens!

ademort

Anything that helps lorry drivers to see around the vehicle they are driving can only be a plus. On Tuesday this week i had a lucky escape, as i went over a junction in a cycle lane a lorry cut right accross my path, i was going at a fair old speed at the time and managed to pull myself accross the front of the lorry. I still came off the bike and the lorry driver stopped, but he was well over the cycle path and if i had not seen him, i can safely say that i would not be here now.It was wet and muddy which helped my fall, only mud on my bib-tights and thermal jacket and only mud on bar tape and saddle.I,ve been riding 28 years and would have said that the driver was looking at me, we made eye contact. He said that he never saw me and was very emotional, could not say sorry enough at the time.At the end of the day if i had not seen him i really would have been dead now. Experience saved me.I have learnt one valueable lesson from this, even after 28years of riding, in future will wait for the driver to stop and not take it for granted that he will stop.So i say again, anything that helps a driver see other road users can only be a big plus. Greetings Ademort

BentMikey

Got a Google map location of that ademort? I'd love to know the positions and directions of you and the lorry, and see the junction on satellite view.

Yowser, I'm sweating at the very idea of going over a junction in the cycle lane generally. This is exactly why primary in a full car lane is the best way to cross junctions, not stuck at the side in the cycle execution zone.

ademort

Hi i am onto it, please remember that this is in the Netherlands. I will try to find a map of the area and send it on. Greetings Ademort.

ademort

Hi Mikey i got onto google earth and came up with theses coordinates
51 28 23. 32 North and 3 40 39.72 East. Mikey hope this works ok. Iwas on the cycle path seen on the right and riding in a NW direction accross the viaduct that can be seen. The lorry was on the main road in the center of the map and also going in NW direction, just at that crossing he turned Right, i had right of way it is clearly marked, shame you cannot see it so well. There really is no excuse for this, there are no distractions or heavy traffic and its beyond me how he could not see me ( we were only ten metres apart riding parallel to each other from the roundabout that can be seen on the map. I can say without doubt that if i had not seen him i would be dead, the wagon stopped about half way down the trailer on the cycle path. Guess one of my nine lives has been crossed off eh. Greetings Ademort

BentMikey

Here?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en ... 9&t=k&z=19

Cyclepaths are bad news.

ademort

Hi Mikey, yes that is it, at least the google earth system works, good to know for future reference, i,ve no choice but to ride in the bike lane, in general the best place to be,they say you are always learning and i learnt a valueable lesson. It will not happen again. Greetings Ademort

robbiminator

How about cyclists don't undertake near junctions or turnings? Is that too hard? Of course it is! And before anybody starts flaming away-I used to cycle from Waltham Abbey to Whitechapel and now cycle to Edmonton on a regular basis and see all the retards cutting up, undertaking and generally ignoring the Highway Code and common sense. In all my time cycling into and around London (17 years +) I have NEVER put myself in a situation with a "Killer" HGV. Countless times have I witnessed where a lorry was about to turn (flashing indicators are a great giveaway) or turning and some suicidal cyclist tried to squeeze past. The truckers don't have a great field of vision and in the end in a collison there's only going to be one winner.

SamWise72

There's no real benefit to cycling in the city if you can't pass the cars; I obey the lights, but I nip through the traffic. However, if you're going to do that, you'd better pay close attention to what others are likely to do, and coming up alongside a vehicle in its blind spot when they're turning right is just stupid. You can save a great deal of time in traffic without risking your life.

BentMikey

robbiminator wrote:

I have NEVER put myself in a situation with a "Killer" HGV.

Yes, most HGV drivers are excellent at dealing with all the muppetry around them, and are quality professional drivers. On the other hand I've twice been overtaken and left hooked by HGVs, so blame does belong to both sides on occasion. That's lethal behaviour.