Rider down

MadammeMarie

Cyclist down in Borough High Street and Great Dover Street.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/1/128207

WesternWay

MadammeMarie wrote:

Cyclist down in Borough High Street and Great Dover Street.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/1/128207

It makes me feel a bit worried when I see these stories.

Superficially looks like another "don't go down the left of things"

iPete

Ouch, as above, looks like a don't go down the left incident.

I'm baffled by a comment that states it to be statistically safer to go in front of a lorry vs stay behind it?!

el_presidente

Another young woman as well

Hope your injuries are not too serious

MadammeMarie

It could have been a very careless overtaking.

As for the whole "inside of the lorry thing", OK, fair enough, not the wisest thing to do, but we shouldn't keep blaming the victims. At the end of the day, vehicles have mirrors on the left. What are those for? All lorry drivers should check their left mirror before turning left. If they don't, then THEY are in the wrong, not the victim.

The lorry seems to be way too close to the kerb, though, doesn't it?

jonny_trousers

MadammeMarie wrote:

It could have been a very careless overtaking.

As for the whole "inside of the lorry thing", OK, fair enough, not the wisest thing to do, but we shouldn't keep blaming the victims. At the end of the day, vehicles have mirrors on the left. What are those for? All lorry drivers should check their left mirror before turning left. If they don't, then THEY are in the wrong, not the victim.

The lorry seems to be way too close to the kerb, though, doesn't it?

Yes, but we all must accept how vulnerable we are on a bicycle and how a single lapse in concentration (every single one of us who drives a vehicle is guilty of this at one time or another) can prove fatal. We must ride intelligently and look after ourselves. It's all very well being in the right when you are in a hospital bed, or worse...

No_Ta_Doctor

MadammeMarie wrote:

It could have been a very careless overtaking.

As for the whole "inside of the lorry thing", OK, fair enough, not the wisest thing to do, but we shouldn't keep blaming the victims. At the end of the day, vehicles have mirrors on the left. What are those for? All lorry drivers should check their left mirror before turning left. If they don't, then THEY are in the wrong, not the victim.

The lorry seems to be way too close to the kerb, though, doesn't it?

I agree that blaming victims isn't useful, but wing mirrors have blind spots, if you're fairly far forward you'll be missed. In Denmark they've been installing closed circuit TV cams to try and solve the problem. Basically, don't go up the left, they can't always see you, even when they check. Too many people don't know this :-(

FrankM

MadammeMarie wrote:

At the end of the day, vehicles have mirrors on the left. What are those for?

Vehicles have blind spots, and quite large ones at that. Some also have warning signs not to undertake on the left and pointing out that they have blind spots.

In any event, I echo e_p's comments about hoping the injuries are not too serious.

iPete

I'll echo the blind spots comments, I really need to goto one of these bike breakfasts and sit in a HGV!

lost_in_thought

Having been to one this morning, and sat in an HGV, my suspicions were confirmed. In this one, which was not a massive one, the normal mirror shows a cyclist from about halfway down the trailer and back from there.

If you're forward of that, you're invisible. They can check their mirrors all they like and still not see you. Some have another mirror underneath, but that only picks you up when you're right by the cab, and right next to it. And a lot of older trucks don't have them.

Just reinforces the point - DON'T go down the left of large vehicles. It's simply not worth it.

I hope this lady recovers.

ketsbaia

Ooof. That's on my commute route, that is. Didn't see it this morning on my way in and there was nothing there when I went past on my way home. It's a sharp corner, but there is usually ample opportunity to go forward of the pedestrian crossing at those lights and be way out in front of the traffic. Plenty of filter opportunities as well which don't involve going up the left.

Hope she's OK.

spen666

Whatever the rights and wrongs of an accident are, it is us cyclists who will come off worst in a collision with a motor vehicle.

Its better we take action to preserve our safety than to be in the right, but crushed under a tipper truck or other vehicle

Better safe and alive than dead right

georgee

Both me and another old hand who I see comming through Barnes/Putney ended up on the inside of a tipper truck on Putney Bridge this week. Not much we could have done about it. I had another pull out on me from Kingston Uni after looking straight at me today as I descended towards him, if I hadn't dropped the anchors I would have gone straight into him. That said I hope the poor girl wasn't dumb enough to head up the inside of one.

G

jonny_trousers

I'm afraid I probably gave a fellow cyclist brown lycras yesterday evening: I had to take the car into work for one reason or another and was stuck in a horrible jam trying to cross Cambridge Circus. After about ten minutes of watching the lights change, but being unable to cross to the other side I decided that enough was enough and that I had to turn down the road to the left that runs alongside the Ivy. I checked my mirrors, I indicated left, I moved ever so slightly to the left to get a clearer view through the passenger side wing-mirror when a roady suddenly came screaming up the inside. He shouted a warning at me (and I don't blame him in the slightest for doing so, as he was understandably looking after himself) and then shot by.

This experience reminded me of how dangerous it can be zipping along the inside of stationary traffic. I consider myself to be a pretty aware driver anyway, but even more so since I took up commuting by bike. I checked my mirrors, but with a truck behind me the only way I could get a clear view was to edge to the left a little (many drivers would not bother doing that when frustrated with London jams). A cyclist travelling at just 15mph could be utterly invisible in a mirror one second and then up alongside the car the next. I guess my point is that cycling among motor vehicles is a dangerous thing to do and we need to accept that and look after ourselves as best we can. Yes, the cyclist has just as much of a right to be there as the motorist; yes, it's understandable that they might want to glide to the front of a queue when able to do so, but when mistakes are made - no matter who's fault they are - one person is going to come off a lot worse.