Snow on the road...

Jon Snow on why there are so many cyclist deaths.
http://www.channel4.com/news/why-are-mo ... ains-roads
http://www.channel4.com/news/why-are-mo ... ains-roads
The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
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Whose fault is that then ??!!? :roll:
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
Even in a car I'm wary of using the RH lane on a roundabout when a big lorry is in the LH one. Those trailers don't follow the same turning arc as the tractor unit.
Fortunately, I don't have to ride on busy roads very often these days but when I did I preferred to overtake stationary traffic on the off-side.
If the cyclist gets caught in that closing gap, it is categorically the cyclists fault assuming the driver has used his indicator.
We all know that lorries do this, so to put yourself in that position is not just silly it's downright dangerous.
Accidents do happen, but you've got to be sensible enough to look after yourself to minimise the possibilities of being involved in one.
I've seen this from both sides, as a driver I've encountered cyclists who absolutely will die one day on a ride as they are so reckless with their own lives it's untrue and hide in the enormous blind spot alongside your trailer. But I've also seen drivers who should never have passed a HGV test.
Although I hate to admit it as a cyclist, there are more cyclist's that are reckless with their lives than bad lorry drivers. No doubt this will be an unpopular opinion but it is the truth.
It's easy for relatively keen cyclists who hang out on forums to say that we all know lorries do this, but for the average joe, who's happened to pick up a bike as a way of getting around, that's not the case.
What could be helpful is more sign-age on the rear of lorries explaining the blindspots and not to undertake.
I remember seeing signage on the back of HGV trailers and on rear mudflaps which read, on the offside "overtaking side" and "suicide" on the nearside. That would seem graphic enough.
This is the main point.
Some people aren't that smart. They get on to a Boris bike, cycle in the cycle lane exactly as they are told, they wait at a red signal then then get killed by a lorry.
Remember, in many cases the lorry pulled up beside a cyclist after the cyclist had stopped.
In my opinion, if your vehicle has blind spots large enough that a person on a bicycle can disappear in them then your vehicle is not safe enough to be on the road.
Hmm, very controversial, since ALL CARS have a blind spot big enough to hide a bike in, as do ALL MOTORBIKES and I dare say MOST PUSH BIKES could hide another bike as well if the rider didn't take the correct precautions.
But hey, on a positive slant, at least the roads would be clear for cyclists. Maybe we could turn cycle lanes into car lanes and vice versa? You don't have a driving license do you? This I feel is the kind of situation which calls for FORMAL EDUCATION of cyclists to be a legal requirement. The car driver, PCV/HGV driver and motorcyclist have all had it, but have you had any training whatsoever to ride your bike in the Queens Highway?
More promisingly, despite continued growth in the number of cylists on the road, the long term trend still shows a reducing trend, especially from the 10 year high in 2005.
2000 - 127
2001 - 138
2002 - 130
2003 - 114
2004 - 134
2005 - 148
2006 - 146
2007 - 136
2008 - 115
2009 - 104
2010 - 111
I forecast this year's figure to be between 105 and 110.
Bob
Cycle specific training is good, but if you drive a car you surely know that it has a blind spot big enough to fit a 40-foot truck in. So what happens when drivers get on their bikes, do they forget all that? Speaking personally (and I'm not one who thinks of cycling as dangerous) cycling makes me more aware of risk, not less.
Interesting further stat in the report 1.5% "rise in cycling" - not sure exactly what it means but at that rate I don't think we'll reach critical mass anytime soon. Sounds more like the plateau after a lungbusting climb.
In my opinion, if you're stupid enough to cycle up the inside of any vehicle, at a junction with a left hand turn, you deserve to be subject to natural selection.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved