Boris nearly wiped out

DavidTQ

On the positive side, London cyclists can rest assured that those planning the new cycling facilities have first hand experience of a near miss with a poorly driven HGV whilst cycling "correctly". Im sure cyclist safety will be playing on their minds for a while now...

jedster

I'm just trying to imagine how much of a complete and utter mentalist you have to be to

a) fix your heavy steel truck doors with coathangers
AND
b) drive fast over speed bumps
WHILE
c) overtaking cyclists to close to parked cars

taken together, surely this is compelling evidence of someone who is not mentally/emotionally equipped to be permitted to drive a lethal weapon on the public highway.

However, I can already hear the justification for a light penalty "his livelihood depends on his license and if we banned everyone who drove like that ..."

J

Soul Boy

Yup thats quite a catalogue of errors. A freak occurance, pretty damn scary, but easily avoided had the driver any regard for other road users.

Paid per load perhaps?

Remarkable that the CCTV came to light so quickly, when so often we hear there was no coverage around an area of a fatality.

OldSkoolKona

Coathanger? :shock: Priceless.

Sadly though, a lot of the comments in the press have been about bike lanes. As if a line of white paint would have saved you from that. A really lucky escape.

dirk_van_gently

The driver HAS to be prosecuted, that is effectively an insecure load, AND dangerous driving.

WTF, if the car had been occupied, or the other door popped open first, it would have been carnage!

No defence in my opinion.

laughingboy

Jesus!
I didn't want to pre-judge, but as other posters have said, if the Mail article is right:

"Boris immediately stopped and came cycling back and noticed the driver had tried to hold the doors together with a coat hanger."

then take the guy's licence away. Permanently.

BTW, there is a nice debate about this incident on The Guardian's website, too. [/i]

Porgy

OldSkoolKona wrote:

More green paint on its own is not the solution (as this fatality on the A4 sadly shows), better designed roads and education (of both drivers and cyclists) are.

In fact I think cycle lanes might be part of the problem.

I've been back to Greenwich to see where that girl got killed last week. There are cycle lanes there right next to a metal fence (which serves no purpose as far as I can tell). Cyclists are lulled into a false sense of security - thinking that the cycle lane gives them a right of way/protection and try to pass a vehicle on the left regardless of how dangerous this maneuovre might be. It would be better if both the cycle lane and the fence were removed IMO.

Wasn't there a fatal incident on a bridge in London a year or two ago where the woman who died was hit on a cycle lane in the middle of two lanes of traffic, and the cycle lane was removed shortly aftwerwards, deemed to be a dangerous design.

sirmy

Just looked at the map on the link posted by OldSkoolKona and the road is one way so the driver might be a useless tosser who shouldn't be allowed to sit in a motor vehicle let alone drive one, he wasn't on the wrong side of the road

Clever Pun

that's a 20mph zone.... he was over that I don't doubt

prj45

I've actually written to Boris about this.

He's off asserting we need seperate cycle lanes (ignoring that that driver could've killed anybody, even if they were in a segregated cycle lane).

No we don't we need drivers/vehicles like this and the companies that "maintain" the vehicles and pay the driver to get there quick TAKEN OFF THE FUCKING ROADS!

Frankly, this topic hasn't got much to do with cycling in the end.

OldSkoolKona

sirmy wrote:

Just looked at the map on the link posted by OldSkoolKona and the road is one way so the driver might be a useless tosser who shouldn't be allowed to sit in a motor vehicle let alone drive one, he wasn't on the wrong side of the road

I think the google map is misleading - the actual section of the incident is two way and you can see parked cars pointing in both directions in the video. Someone else has uploaded an anotated map of the incident:
http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/i ... ehouse.jpg
http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/i ... rrowst.jpg

Bassjunkieuk

OldSkoolKona wrote:

sirmy wrote:

Just looked at the map on the link posted by OldSkoolKona and the road is one way so the driver might be a useless tosser who shouldn't be allowed to sit in a motor vehicle let alone drive one, he wasn't on the wrong side of the road

I think the google map is misleading - the actual section of the incident is two way and you can see parked cars pointing in both directions in the video. Someone else has uploaded an anotated map of the incident:
http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/i ... ehouse.jpg
http://www.britishschoolofcycling.com/i ... rrowst.jpg

:shock: OMG I didn't realize where it took place but thought I recognized the road name - myself and GregT use that road as part of our commutes and I can say it is certainly 2 way along there. The speed humps are quite vicious and as CP has said it is a 20mph zone.

AndyManc

If it's not been reported yet .....

" The driver was interviewed under caution but not arrested. He was released after being reported for two motoring offences, driving without due care and attention and keeping a vehicle in a dangerous condition."


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