Article from a lorry driver who hit a cyclist

[Globalti]

No but sometimes cyclists in groups or pairs do spread out across the road and drivers are usually quite appreciative when they see those cyclists making an effort to create some space. As a driver I find it extremely stressful trying to get past a big bunch of cyclists struing out over a couple of hundred yards.

 

[gilespargiter]

Seems to me there are a few things about this that people have failed to consider.
One thing is that the driver’s tachometer record would have recorded his speed at the time of the incident, which would certainly have been taken into account at the time. This would partly have been used to decide his liability for prosecution or not (40mph for LGV’s on single carriageways; unless a speed limit indicates less).
With air-ride suspension (now usual) if a 44tonne vehicle comes up behind you on a fairly good road surface, while easing off on the power – it will be so quiet you may well not hear it.
For me it brings to mind the death of the son of a close friend of mine; he was killed in a similar incident, he was 12yrs, he had been specifically forbidden on this specific occasion to go on the main road with his bike as had his friends. The lorry in front stopped (he used his mirrors) the lorry that did it stopped (tacho recording 33mph-on a 40mph road) the lorry behind stopped, the car coming the other way stopped, his two friends on bicycles behind him stopped, – they all saw it. He went under the truck.
He turned across the road without looking, to go through a field gate.
What can any driver do if someone comes immediately in front of them without looking?
We (my friend {the father} his older son and mother) went to see the driver (very local), a while after we had buried the lad, to try and reconcile him to the fact that it was not especially his fault, that he may a few weeks before have even been the man who delivered the bicycle.
The real difficulty as it seems to me, is that we all demand cheap quick easy transport and will not properly recognise the consequences of obtaining it.

 

[Crosstrailer]

If he had hit him at 1

And now, having read the article.... How f***ing fast was he going to do all that damage (even after, presumably, he'd slowed down)? I've got not very much sympathy for the driver I'm afraid.

If he had hit him at 15mph he potentially could have killed him. You cannot guess at the drivers speed and make assumptions based on reading that article.

 

[lulubel]

No but sometimes cyclists in groups or pairs do spread out across the road and drivers are usually quite appreciative when they see those cyclists making an effort to create some space

Interestingly, the advice given here in Spain is to always ride 2 abreast if you're riding in a group, and not move into single file to make it easier for a vehicle to pass - unless the road is too narrow otherwise, obviously. This forces vehicles to wait for an opportunity to overtake safely rather than trying to squeeze past. It works here because the majority of drivers accept that cyclists have as much right to be on the road as they do, but I think it would result in a lot of road rage in the UK.

 

[Globalti]

Well, we all know that in Spain people are generally more relaxed than in the UK; to most Spaniards even the word mañana has an air of catastrophic urgency.

 

[vernon]

nowt wrong with a driver sounding their horn to alert another road user to their presence... isn't this what horns are for?

this is what they seem to do when i was in turkey... every car would beep the car in front before passing them... took some getting used to, but maybe us Brits are too horn-shy.

It was like that in Greece twenty odd years ago. Trucks had two horns fitted. A gentle one warning folk of their presence and a loud 'get out of my fugging way' horn.

 

[ufkacbln]

I believe that vehicles should be fitted with a second not so loud more friendly sounding horn /bell or whatever purely used to warn cyclists pedestrians etc. The normal horn could still be in the center of the steering wheel for emergency use.

I have heard that Boris Johnson is campaigning for something similar.

Sorry, I have been fighting the urge, but I see this as one of these;

Equipped with one of these on the dashboard:

 

[Globalti]

My brother was the chief engineer on the project to build that vehicle. Sad but true.

 

[mickle]

My brother was the chief engineer on the project to build that vehicle. Sad but true.

The proper Humvee or the re-bodied Blazer?

 

[Globalti]

Hummer 2, not the original Humvee. He was employed by Ricardo when they got the job at GM.

 

[ColinJ]

Well, we all know that in Spain people are generally more relaxed than in the UK; to most Spaniards even the word mañana has an air of catastrophic urgency.

Hmmm - not always a good thing ... I remember reading "Wind in my Wheels" by Josie Dew and she related how her b/f was knocked off his bike in Spain and suffered a serious head injury. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and the staff just shrugged when they saw him, and carried on chatting. They were on a break ...