Article from a lorry driver who hit a cyclist

[RiflemanSmith]

Isn't that what our criminal justice system is based on?
Or have you an alternative in mind to the principle of being innocent until proved guilty?


GC

Wow why so dramatic?
I was saying that was one version of events, we didn't hear from the other person and that it was easy to get away with some thing if guilt can't be proven.
I was not saying our criminal justice system is broken or proposing an alternative was I!

 

[MontyVeda]

I'm flabber-fecking-ghasted at some of the comments here... a vehicle makes it's presence known and it's all "how rude", "how aggressive", "I say that lorry driver's suggesting beeping his horn to avoid the possibility of killing someone with little or no road sense... what a tosser!"

what is this, a world where drivers are in the wrong regardless?

 

[MontyVeda]

I know what a car horn is for. I also think that telling a cyclist you're there with one is a bit pointless because, funnily enough, people notice a tonne and a half of metal on wheels moving around and making noise. It's also incredibly rude.

Grow a pair? Sorry that the surprise scares me. I hate loud noises at the best of times due to a learning difficulty I have - can't be helped. Also, the noise hurts my ears which can't be helped either. It's a piercing noise, and everybody is different.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/services/ad_symptoms.php

Read the above, specifically the section titled "Perception (Interpretation of the different senses)" and tell me a need to grow a pair. Don't be an arse because you think I'm a pansy, because it makes you look a knob. Also, considering I'M the one with the learning difficulty, you sure as hell SPELL like you have one.

so you're riding on the road and you hear a car horn and jump out of your skin... do you drive a car too? I hope not!

I don't think you're pansy... I think if you cannot cope with 'noises', for whatever reason, then you need to keep well away from them... you cannot expect other road users to 'whisper' around you because of your unknown superpower.

 

[redcard]

What world are some people living in? Drivers driving around giving cheery toot-toots to cyclists? And here's me thinking I only got beeped cos the lazy, selfish, dick on wheels perceived that I increased his journey time by 6 seconds and was in a rush to get to the lights.

 

[Drago]

To be honest, if they haven't spotted a 40 foot vehicle then is a toot really likely to cut through the fog of ignorance? If he's not using his eyes, is he really likely to be using his ears?

And what would the road be like if every road user beeped their horn to announce their presence?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Wow why so dramatic?
I was saying that was one version of events, we didn't hear from the other person and that it was easy to get away with some thing if guilt can't be proven.
I was not saying our criminal justice system is broken or proposing an alternative was I!

No drama I'm aware of.

Your remark appeared to be a criticism of the principle of presumption of innocence. Did I misinterpret that and you were actually praising it?


GC

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Please use common sense with this whole tooting of the horn thing. No1's saying do it to everyone, every time, but if you feel that the cyclist does not know your there. I can’t believe I had to explain that.

 

[Tigerbiten]

so you're riding on the road and you hear a car horn and jump out of your skin....

If the horn is loud/harsh and catches me compleatly by suprise then sometimes yes.

Do you cycle down a shared path and use a horn/shout at every walker to warn them that your approching from behind ??
If not, why not ?? because walkers are much less predictable than cyclists.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

It wasn't a criticism it was a statement of fact.

 

[Drago]

Please use common sense with this whole tooting of the horn thing. No1's saying do it to everyone, every time, but if you feel that the cyclist does not know your there. I can’t believe I had to explain that.

But if everyone adopted this the road would be a cacophony of utterly meaningless noise. All a cyclist would ever hear in an urban area is a constant beep of horns as each vehicle approaches in turn and the driver alerts the cyclist to their vehicles presence.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Accidents happen. Sucks for the cyclist. Sucks for the driver. Yet they happen.

For what it's worth, in my opinion, English truck drivers are generally the best drivers on the road though. By that I mostly mean trucks driven on English number plates. Those with foreign plates are less easy to classify. Some shocking, some excellent, some outright dangerous. When I check my six I look at eyes, and number plate. It's not a foolproof system but it's pretty accurate.

Also, well done for the mother to have shown such a mature and responsible attitude, well done to the driver for adjusting his behaviour, whether some agree with it or not.

And finally... As a non helmet wearer, this highlights that a badly fitted one means you're not really wearing one.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

But if everyone adopted this the road would be a cacophony of utterly meaningless noise. All a cyclist would ever hear in an urban area is a constant beep of horns as each vehicle approaches in turn and the driver alerts the cyclist to their vehicles presence.

ERRT ERRT, The guy was cycling along, probably not been passed for a while becuase the truck was behind him, he didnt know it was there.
So therefore in this case a toot would have helped, hense the USE COMMON SENSE. If loads of cars are passing a cyclist he does not need every single person too beep!

I mite as well type "lksdrgj sdafjg ' ioj sfv po" becuase its just not getting through

 

[sabian92]

so you're riding on the road and you hear a car horn and jump out of your skin... do you drive a car too? I hope not!

I don't think you're pansy... I think if you cannot cope with 'noises', for whatever reason, then you need to keep well away from them... you cannot expect other road users to 'whisper' around you because of your unknown superpower.

Yes, but only if it's blared as the car goes past me which would probably shoot anybody up to be fair. I don't hear one a mile away and think "f**k, I nearly fell off then!". What's driving got to do with it? I'm in a metal box, it isn't anywhere near as shrill when you're shielded from it, which you're not when you're on a bike. Unless you're listening to music which is ridiculous anyway.

Why do you hope I don't drive a car? I do for the record, I have been for 2 and a half years.

I don't expect people to not beep but if you do it driving past somebody on bike BECAUSE they're on a bike then you're a knob.

Superpower? I highly doubt it's a superpower somehow considering it makes certain aspects of my life a pain in the arse because of it.

 

[Drago]

ERRT ERRT, The guy was cycling along, probably not been passed for a while becuase the truck was behind him, he didnt know it was there.
So therefore in this case a toot would have helped, hense the USE COMMON SENSE. If loads of cars are passing a cyclist he does not need every single person too beep!

I mite as well type "lksdrgj sdafjg ' ioj sfv po" becuase its just not getting through

Ah, and who is to dictate when common sense applies?

If a vehicle runs over your neck in Yorkshire it's just as likely to kill you there than if the accident happened in Hammersmith. Just because you're in Hammersmith and the cyclist ahead has been overtaken by one vehicle in no way makes the rider any more aware of your vehicle than it would if you were in rural Yorkshire and no one had just passed them.

It's a nice idea, but full of flaws and at a practical level it's simply utter bollarks.

The sad reality is (if the account described is correct) that this cyclist died of the dumbs, and nothing you can do will ever compensate for a numbnuts.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

ERRT ERRT, The guy was cycling along, probably not been passed for a while becuase the truck was behind him, he didnt know it was there.
So therefore in this case a toot would have helped, hense the USE COMMON SENSE. If loads of cars are passing a cyclist he does not need every single person too beep!

I mite as well type "lksdrgj sdafjg ' ioj sfv po" becuase its just not getting through

If he couldn't hear an articulated lorry behind him, it was either upon him very fast or he couldn't hear it for some other reason so he probably wouldn't have heard a toot either.