National Grid Vehicle Safety

[buggi]

So, went to an industry exhibition the other day at which National Grid had a few stands, one of which was their new core and vac trucks which just by chance had all the cycle vehicle safety stuff on that me and simonr worked with a couple of the fleet guys to implement (the stuff we won our safety award for).

It was pretty cool to see it up and running, and i thought you might like to see it, so here it is.... you will have to excuse my photography skills, was trying to demurely climb into the cab (and failing miserably) in tight skirt and heels..

Sensors down the side of the vehicle and flashy thing (official technical term) inside the lorry telling the driver there is a cyclist there (and how close)... (goes from green to red and beeps quicker and quicker, like a parking sensor)


Camera on side of vehicle and onboard monitor (the reason the view in the monitor is not clear is because there was the back of a TV stand in the way, which I couldn't move because people were watching it). When the indicator is turned on, the camera and monitor is activated and an audible alarm comes on warning the cyclist the vehicle is turning left or right.



and not forgetting the all important sticker on the back (also there is one inside the door reminding the driver to look out for cyclists before opening the door but i forgot to take a photo).



Obviously, i would rather you didn't ride up the side of our HGVs coz you feel the need to test the equipment, not least because its still a work in progress, and not all of our vehicles have been fitted with it yet, but also because obviously no system is fool proof.

Without hesitation, the company has pretty much taken on board all of our suggestions and just run with it, and I'm very proud to work for a company that takes the safety of the community so seriously that it took such a proactive approach, rather than wait for a disaster to react to. And they also let me take any time i need to train the cyclists and I've even known them pay for road alterations to make it safer for our cyclists.


As I'm office based, its the first chance I've had to see the results of the project to get this stuff implemented, which was really nice (I'm due my official viewing in December with Simonr).

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Good stuff, and impressive pics given the tight skirt and heels; I know how much of a bugger they can be

 

[buggi]

can't seem to tag simon.r and swansonj, can someone do it for me. ta

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

can't seem to tag simon.r and swansonj, can someone do it for me. ta

Doesnae seem to be working.

 

[buggi]

Doesnae seem to be working.

Funny you should use that accent, the exhibition was in Aberdeen on Tuesday. (and it was VERY WINDY and i had to fly on this a little propellor plane!!!

The flight was...er... interesting!.

 

[Ern1e]

Thats quite impresive stuff @buggi my only question is can this system be disabled by the driver ?

 

[buggi]

Thats quite impresive stuff @buggi my only question is can this system be disabled by the driver ?

no i don't believe it can. If it could, and the driver did, they would be in trouble i'm sure, National Grid takes safety very seriously and if they put something in place like this they would not be expecting it to be turned off. I can check for sure but i'm 99.9% certain it can't be turned off. . why do you ask? is there a circumstance under which you think it should be, or are you wondering if the driver can be naughty?

 

[buggi]

ah, haven't been on here for so long, forgot how to tag.

@simon.r @swansonj

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Very good @buggi

The question that crossed my mind the other day is why isn't there a national tv / newspaper campaign telling people not to ride up the inside of vehicles like this at traffic lights junctions etc. I always hang back behind with the traffic myself there is no way I would ever risk it.

 

[buggi]

Very good @buggi

The question that crossed my mind the other day is why isn't there a national tv / newspaper campaign telling people not to ride up the inside of vehicles like this at traffic lights junctions etc. I always hang back behind with the traffic myself there is no way I would ever risk it.

i suppose really, because a cyclist isn't breaking the law. it's a conundrum. by telling the cyclist not to do it, your condoning a driver for not looking, reinforcing bad behaviour, and it should always be the drivers responsibility to check for vulnerable road users, but by doing it the cyclist risks his life. Really, the campaign should be for ALL drivers (not just HGV drivers) to check left when turning, particularly at lights where they have been standing still for a while. i actually had a boyfriend who thought his left hand mirror was for pointing at the kerb so he could see where he was parking (i sh!t you not!)

But i also think all children should have bikeability as part of the school curriculum (and i'm not just talking one week, i mean a few hours a month, maybe as part of PE lessons?) and we could then teach them behaviour around HGVs at a young age, and get that good behaviour embedded into adulthood.

and then... also... campaign against Local Authorities painting bike lanes up to the traffic lights, encouraging cyclists to ride up the inside.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

i suppose really, because a cyclist isn't breaking the law. it's a conundrum. by telling the cyclist not to do it, your condoning a driver for not looking, reinforcing bad behaviour, and it should always be the drivers responsibility to check for vulnerable road users, but by doing it the cyclist risks his life. Really, the campaign should be for ALL drivers (not just HGV drivers) to check left when turning, particularly at lights where they have been standing still for a while. i actually had a boyfriend who thought his left hand mirror was for pointing at the kerb so he could see where he was parking (i sh!t you not!)

But i also think all children should have bikeability as part of the school curriculum (and i'm not just talking one week, i mean a few hours a month, maybe as part of PE lessons?) and we could then teach them behaviour around HGVs at a young age, and get that good behaviour embedded into adulthood.

and then... also... campaign against Local Authorities painting bike lanes up to the traffic lights, encouraging cyclists to ride up the inside.

Yes a lot of these "bike lanes" around here that are just a few yards long leading up to a traffic light then just stop so when you are going through the lights there is no lane it just disappears complete waste of time.

Like I say if I am coming up to a traffic light with an HGV at the front I just sit back with the rest of the traffic I am in no hurry to die just yet.

 

[buggi]

Yes a lot of these "bike lanes" around here that are just a few yards long leading up to a traffic light then just stop so when you are going through the lights there is no lane it just disappears complete waste of time.

Like I say if I am coming up to a traffic light with an HGV at the front I just sit back with the rest of the traffic I am in no hurry to die just yet.

same here mate. no point in being dead right!

 

[winjim]

Really, the campaign should be for ALL drivers (not just HGV drivers) to check left when turning, particularly at lights where they have been standing still for a while.

I always check both wing mirrors before moving off from a stop. This is how I was taught by my driving instructor (I learned to drive relatively recently, in my 30s), who specifically reminded me that a cyclist could have filtered up while I was stationary. Sadly this advice doesn't seem to be the case across the board, judging from the reactions of some of my passengers when they have spotted me doing it.

Nice truck by the way.

 

[Brandane]

Good work @buggi !

As an HGV driver I would welcome some sort of audible warning to tell me if someone is very close in to my front nearside. In certain circumstances even a car can be hard to spot if it sits in an area just to the front and on the nearside of a lorry, where it can be hidden by the door pillar (look at the second photo in Buggi's OP to see how wide the pillar is!), while sitting below the line of sight through the windscreen.

Don't ask me how I know this . Put it this way, I was quite shaken up as I realised what the consequences could have been for a cyclist. Luckily it was very low speed (car had come up my inside as I was moving from right lane to left after a bus lane at traffic lights). I had checked my mirrors and was indicating, but he still managed to find that area where I didn't see him.

I still maintain that there are no real blind spots on a lorry with properly adjusted, clean mirrors. However it is possible for a car/bike to move between zones of vision while the driver is checking another mirror (there are 4 on the nearside and 2 on the offside to check). It happens in the blink of an eye. Quite scary actually, and only my second bump in almost 10 years with an HGV license (used it full time for 6 years, part time for the other 4).

PS.. Coiincidentally I was also in Aberdeen on Tuesday, and at the airport too. Delivering air freight for Servisair. Yes it was windy! Bad enough on the ground with a curtain sided trailer. Glad I wasn't flying.

 

[summerdays]

I've been standing near some traffic lights on the pavement, and heard the warning message from the lorry. Can't remember whose lorry it was. Anything that highlights the problem is good.

I've also been in the situation where I was to the left of a lorry who didn't spot me (we were in different lanes before he moved into mine which was a bus lane), and I was sufficiently shaken that I stopped and spoke to the bloke when he stopped on the double yellow lines 100 meters ahead. This system may have alerted him.