An alternative to dino-fueled (petrol/disel) motors.

[Chris S]

You obviously know better than road safety experts then.

 

[confusedcyclist]

Who are these 'experts', why should we believe them?

 

[Drago]

How does an HGV get so close that a Velo would be in a blind spot, without first spotting the Velo as they approached it? The blind spot doesn't extend a mile ahead - its immediately under the windscreen, and items are visible right up until the moment they disappear into it

 

[confusedcyclist]

@Chris S must have personal experience of suddenly appearing out of nowhere, otherwise, I just can't follow the logic of these so-called 'experts'. Does not compute.

 

[Chris S]

Are you saying that drivers of HGVs cannot see the surface of the road?

Not at various points around them, it's even worse with velos as they're lower.
If an HGV comes around a bend and your already in its blindspot then collisions occur.

 

[Chris S]

What a load of nonsense.

Unfortunately it's not:

"PC Mark Weaver, collision investigator, said the driver would not have seen the bike as there was a blind spot on the lorry not covered by mirrors."

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/video-devastated-kings-heath-mum-6664809

 

[jefmcg]

 

[mjr]

You obviously know better than road safety experts then.

That's not difficult! "Road Safety" is based around victim-blaming in an attempt to distract from actually dealing with the causes of road danger. Many "road safety experts" would be quite happy to see active travel banished from the roads, resulting in a dramatic drop in casualties on that road, thereby meeting their definition of a safe road, even though it's now a motorway and much less useful to society. That's why many cycling advocates have switched to supporting "road danger reduction", "sustainable safety" and/or "Vision Zero". For a much more detailed explanation see https://rdrf.org.uk/about-2/

ETA: I often refer to Norfolk County Council's Road Safety Audit Team as an example. They argued against making a one-way street two-way for cycling because they said cyclists couldn't make right-turns safely from the other end into a single-carriageway road as they would be turning across two lanes of traffic (they wouldn't - it's only one lane each way and besides, there are other places where cyclists are expected to make a right turn across five higher-speed lanes), yet they allowed this crap with a cycle route ending on the sharp corner of a T junction where most cyclists will be going to/from the left of picture, where most HGVs go:

Unfortunately it's not:

"PC Mark Weaver, collision investigator, said the driver would not have seen the bike as there was a blind spot on the lorry not covered by mirrors."

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/video-devastated-kings-heath-mum-6664809

Surely that's an argument for banning defective low-vision HGVs, not random classes of other road users?

 

[KnackeredBike]

What a load of nonsense.

Nonsense peddled on a daily basis.

From Thames Valley police email as to why they weren't taking action against a driver who pulled out and knocked me off my bike.

felt that is was likely you were in the blind spot of the driver [and this is the reason why they] simply did not see you

If a driver blames their poor observations on you being in their blind spot - even in a car where if you do proper obs you should not have a blind spot - then all is forgiven, tragic accident old chap, probably the cyclist's fault for cycling in your blind spot, no-one could have prevented it.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

It's quite demagogic but it's still very worth a read:

http://mccraw.co.uk/sorry-mate-i-cant-see-blind-spot/

 

[confusedcyclist]

https://rdrf.org.uk/about-2/

Fantastic blog, thanks for sharing, haven't seen this before!

 

[Nigelnightmare]

"PC Mark Weaver, collision investigator, said the driver would not have seen the bike as there was a blind spot on the lorry not covered by mirrors."

Surely the onus is on the driver/operator of the vehicle to eliminate the blind spot's "Before using it on the public highways" and if it can't then the vehicle is not fit to be used (legally).
The buck stops at the operator, not the manufacturer or any other road user.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Blind spots on trucks are a problem when someone (Pedestrian, cyclist or car) is so close to the vehicle that they are hidden from the sweep of the mirrors. When people talk about low vehicle such as a recumbent being invisible to other road users they think that the lack of height prevents that vehicle being seen by someone who would see an upright under the same conditions. That is just nonsense, as any recumbent rider will tell you. Believe me, being a highly unusual apparition on the road you stand out like a sore thumb. People who would brush your elbow were you on an upright pass so wide they are practically climbing the opposite verge as the gawp through the window at you.

The only time I've nearly been hit was by some prat on a road bike who was coming toward me on a cycle path and too busy reading whatever piece of electronic junk he had bolted to his handlebar to look where he was going. A polite(!) screech woke him up in time to prevent a collision.