hit and run lorry

biondino

My colleague told me about this one, and that it had been a fatality. Great to hear it's not.

il_principe

lost_in_thought wrote:

Good god - just looked at the pictures. :shock:

All the best to her for a speedy recovery.

I don't understand why it's always women... there must be a reason.

Looks very very nasty. Hope she pulls through.

I had a very close call with WVM on Edgeware Rd this am, knobhead changed lanes right in front of me without indicating, God knows how I didn't hit him or come off, the rear wheel locked completely. He just hadn't bothered to look before swerving out, scared the cr@p out of me.

Porgy

Lorries take the piss. You can discuss blind spots and riding ont he inside all you like, but lorry drivers need to be told to drive safely, and this shoudl be enforced.

Two of the bastards were racing to over take me this morning on a narrow stretch of road near Woolwich. they were clearly behind me and clearly NOT going to go any faster than me. And there was clearly not the space to overtake.

And yet one drove as close behind me as it could really intimidating me, with another right behind him.

In the end I ducked in let them pass, then I had to pass them again almost immediately (in a different lane) when they stopped at the lights they were racing towards.

Earlier in the week I had some bastard in a lorry pass me on the right and then do a left turn in front of me forcing me to brake. When I complained he said he was nowhere near me. If he'd hit me he'd probably claim that I was overtaking him!

:evil: rant over.

OldSkoolKona

That is a horrific photo :?



I see it is an artic, a lot of the commentary on here and elsewhere has been that most problems come from smaller trucks, skip trucks etc.

Porgy

jashburnham wrote:

Looks very very nasty. Hope she pulls through.

the article said injuries weren't life threatening. Though god knows how looking at that photo.

Gazzaputt

There is an ASL at them lights. My money is on he encroached it and failed to see the poor girl on his lefthand side.

Sewinman

lost_in_thought wrote:

Good god - just looked at the pictures. :shock:

All the best to her for a speedy recovery.

I don't understand why it's always women... there must be a reason.

Maybe they are less aggressive when filtering and get stuck along side lorries more?

Cafewanda

@ Sewinman - less aggressive may well be right. I know I am.

If they are at the lights before me I stay behind. If they appear to my right I let them move off, see where they are headed before I move off, even if other cyclists are chomping at the bit to move. I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere whilst cycling on crowded roads.

jedster

I don't understand why it's always women... there must be a reason

My observation is that women cyclists are more like to be found hugging the kerb than male cyclists. I think that makes them more vulnerable.

I think lots of people find the idea that you are safer further away from the kerb totally counterintuitive - it requires a bit of experience and assertiveness to overcome that.

J

el_presidente

That must be 5 or 6 women killed or seriously injured by lorries this year. If those had been perpetrated by an attacker there would be a serious public information campaign warning women to be vigilant. Why is there not a similar campaign warning them to stay away from lorries?

Cafewanda

I was going to say I don't hug the kerb, then had a think and realised that I do in certain places :oops: Where there are two lanes I occupy the middle of the inside lane but where there is only one I do tend to kerb hug without realising, mainly during the homeward journey :?

" it requires a bit of experience and assertiveness to overcome that. " <--- will work on that.

fatgrimpeur

Actually those photos look quite a lot better than the carnage I saw as I went passed it. I am absolutely astounded that anyone could survive what I saw, the amount of blood at the scene was shocking.

Best wishes to the victim and wishing her a speedy recovery.

biondino

Can we use the word "assertive" do describe good riding whereby the rider makes sure he/she is seen and controls their bit of road, rather than "aggressive"? This isn't just semantics, it's a genuine difference.

jedster

Can we use the word "assertive" do describe good riding whereby the rider makes sure he/she is seen and controls their bit of road, rather than "aggressive"? This isn't just semantics, it's a genuine difference.

couldn't agree more

assertive - clear, purposeful, controlled, unambiguous, confident
aggressive - gung ho, fast, selfish, overconfident

at least to me

Soul Boy

Assertiveness and Awareness.

Not a direct comment on the story, I don't know the facts, but I see all too many people, men and women, totally oblivious to their surroundings.

I dis car drivers for always trying to get in front, but I see many cyclists with the same attitude, going down gaps that don't exist. No assessment of the situation (is the light going to change, can I get out the other side, is the indicator on?).

Please be assertive, but also be aware.

My thoughts are with this rider, hoping for a full and speedy recovery.

Gazzaputt

Everyday I see so many woman going up the inside of lorrys, vans and buses at lights to get to the front. Definitely more than men.

Porgy

Gazzaputt wrote:

Everyday I see so many woman going up the inside of lorrys, vans and buses at lights to get to the front. Definitely more than men.

I saw a woman trying to squeeze past a lorry that was doing a left turn, just a couple of weeks ago - it looked extrmemly dangerous to me. Admittedly she was on the right of the lorry - but she still nearly got run over.

artaxerxes

I see this almost every day too, but I never say anything in case they think of me as some know-it-all.

sarajoy

Well there's assertiveness and daftness - even smaller flatbed trucks on a gentle bend can put the squeezers on you and force you into a kerb - I've had that when I've not been filtering and they've been the ones to pass me.

I do find myself slowing down and hanging back to let big things like that pass me, as nearly all of them seem to choose hug the kerb at some point.

Kieran_Burns

I do have this forum to thank for educating me in certain aspects of commuting that probably would not occur to me otherwise.

(genuinely)

Just the other day after almost being run over by an oblivious lorry driver red light jumping, I came up behind him at the next lights. These are at a 90 degree left hand bend and he was on the inside lane but with a fair gap down the inside of him.

I looked at this gap and went a little cold. I thought of this forum, of the horror stories and there was no way I was going down there.

I sat out in the primary behind the lorry and looked over my shoulder at the car driver behind me. We made eye contact and he gave a slight nod.

This meant I knew I was clear behind while the lorry faffed at the bend so was safe. I consider myself to be an experienced cyclist but *I* need the lessons learned on this forum to help me along... so isn't it really all down to education?

OldSkoolKona

jedster wrote:

I think lots of people find the idea that you are safer further away from the kerb totally counterintuitive - it requires a bit of experience and assertiveness to overcome that.

J

Couldn't agree more. I think a lot of new cyclists and in particular a lot of female cyclists feel intimidated into staying close to the curb, so as not to hold up motorists. A few agressive drivers doesn't help, but experience shows the more space you give yourself (within reason) the more space motorists give you.

I've been taking Mrs OSK out on the roads at the weekends to build her confidence and this is one of the things she comments on a lot. She has come on really well (we have cycled through central London a couple of times), is a lot more confident, which highlights how having a 'buddy' to show you the ropes is an excellent way to become an assertive cyclist.

Also agree with the comment on the difference between assertive and agressive cycling. A lot of the commentary about women being involved in more accidents suggests it is because they stick to the rules of the road and don't RLJ. However, I completely refute the suggestion that you have to RLJ to cycle safely.

jedster

A lot of the commentary about women being involved in more accidents suggests it is because they stick to the rules of the road and don't RLJ. However, I completely refute the suggestion that you have to RLJ to cycle safely.

yep, that's right. It's not RLJing that makes you safe it's TAKING THE LANE at the stop light. You are not holding anyone up if you take the lane and the light is red. If you command the lane drivers are more likely to see you and will be less likely to try to pass you and turn across.

I agree with others that this is a lot about education. Education of cyclists that is. You cannot rely on drivers to keep you safe. YOU have to control the risks.

For this reason, I think we should all, politely as possible, point out dangerous behaviour around heavy vehicles. Some cyclists will take it the wrong way and think that we are sticking are noses in. So what? Worth putting up with a bit of that if we can prevent a few of these horrible accidents.

J

Stuey01

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I do have this forum to thank for educating me in certain aspects of commuting that probably would not occur to me otherwise.

+100!

Learned a lot from here, and am much more confident and, i think, safe as a result.

sarajoy

Another point was made to me by my mate who cycles in London a lot (hrm, maybe I could invite him to our drinks in July?), when he came up the weekend I got my new bike and rode with me on my test run to work and back...

...He said I was fairly good at being safe and informative to the cars, BUT I should consider leaving more room between myself and parked cars down the left.

Like, I'd been giving myself ample space (I tend to cycle on the edge of the cycle path closes to traffic) - UNTIL I hit parked cars, then I was still trying to allow passing-space on my right.

I've since taken strong primary along the most-parked section. And avoided a couple of close calls where people have opened car doors into the road without looking. I even got a "Sorry mate, I didn't see ya!" the other week, and I replied with "No, you didn't." and rode off petulantly.

Soul Boy

Assertiveness, awareness, experience and education all play their part.

Totally agree with Jedster: You cannot rely on drivers to keep you safe. YOU have to control the risks.

OK there are times when the situation is out of your control, but all too often we get ourselves in dangerous situations.

Be safe out there folks.

OldSkoolKona

I think also there is a thing about inexperienced cyclists (and a lot of experienced cyclists too) thinking that they have to filter to the front at a junction. Often they get caught out when the lights change, with disasterous consequences if they've filtered up the inside of a left turning vehicle. Sitting back, in primary, a couple of cars back would be a lot safer.

That said, there are instances of vehicles left hooking cyclists, so its not all about going up the inside.

jedster

Sitting back, in primary, a couple of cars back would be a lot safer.

and generally no slower

lost_in_thought

jedster wrote:

Sitting back, in primary, a couple of cars back would be a lot safer.

and generally no slower

+1

And agree with a lot of the points above...

_Brun_

A favourite of mine is when people filter past traffic (on either side), completely oblivious to the side-road ahead and BIG GAP someone has left in the otherwise stationary queue. Cyclist suddenly meets right-turning vehicle...

The rights and wrongs of filtering and who had priority can be argued all day, but it makes a damn sight more sense to avoid the incident in the first place.

artaxerxes

The other thing I see is cyclists hurtling down bus lanes two or three abreast when the car lane is completely stationary with traffic.
For me, if the car lane is stationary, I tend to slow down as there is always some idiot who pulls out into the bus lane without indicating. What is the correct way to cycle in this situation?