Article from a lorry driver who hit a cyclist

[Peter Armstrong]

Reading other peoples comments on here is annyoing, "A vehicle horn is a sound-making device used to warn others of the approach of the vehicle or of its presence"

If you take offence to this or think it is over the top then you simple shouldnt be on the road.

 

[lulubel]

I suppose all drivers could drive along tooting their horns every time they encounter another road user - to warn them of their presence.

 

[doug]

I guess it depends on how he sounds his horn. A gentle toot from a reasonable distance back wouldn't be a problem, a full on blast from 3ft away would. However, it will always sound louder to the cyclist outside than it will to the driver in his insulated cab, so he might think he is giving a gentle toot but the cyclists jumps out of their skin and it's brown shorts time.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Why would people get angry? are they that stupid they dont reolise he is letting peopl know his presence.

Afterall that is what the "horn" is intended for, ...

It depends on the timing.

GC

 

[mickle]

Yeah thats it blame the lorry driver, it must be his fault, he's not a law abiding cyclist, whos every move on the road is perfect.

Only yesterday in my lorry, I had just turned left off a roundabout, in traffic, traveling at about 20 mph and a cyclist squeezed up the inside with inches to spare. He then pulled over to my right between me and the car in front, overtook him, weaved back into the left and went up the inside of 3 or 4 cars. No hand signals, didn't look behind, nothing. Complete idiot. If I had of squashed him, I'd of been arrested through no fault of my own, but then I'm a lawbreaking lorry driver.

Oh, whatever. Show me a cyclist who presents a serious threat of death and injury to anyone in his path. If your lifestyle choices have led you to take a job as a driver of heavy vehicles on the roads that we all share then you have a duty of responsibility to do everything in your power to minimise the threat of danger that you pose to other road users.

So he weaved in and out of traffic without indicating. So what?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It might be salutary to stop thinking about what the driver did and think about what an HGV driver is being asked to do: drive enormous vehicles great distances under time pressure, often on roads which are simply not suitable for such large vehicles. (Or: vehicles which are not suitable for such roads.) And when they hit urban areas, their enormous blind spots mean that with the best will in the world, cyclists will become invisible to them. To me, it looks like an excessive burden for a driver with a conscience.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

It is easy to get away with stuff if it can't be proved that you were at fault.

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

 

[jayonabike]

Oh, whatever. Show me a cyclist who presents a serious threat of death and injury to anyone in his path. If your lifestyle choices have led you to take a job as a driver of heavy vehicles on the roads that we all share then you have a duty of responsibility to do everything in your power to minimise the threat of danger that you pose to other road users.

So he weaved in and out of traffic without indicating. So what?

So what? It is dangerous thats what, and not my fault if I had of hit him while he rode up the left hand side of me in traffic. I only saw him when his head popped out from under my front left wing mirror. I wasn't worried about him presenting " a serious threat of death and injury to anyone in his path " just himself. And as for ''do everything in your power to minimise the threat of danger that you pose to other road users'' I did.
If it had been a car weaving about on the road, with no indication or care for other road users, would you say the same thing? I think not, because it is a car, and cars are dangerous. AFAIK cyclist still have to abide by the same laws as every other road user.

P.S I notice in your reply you fail to mention the part about him undertaking me, just the '' weaving in and out of traffic without indicating'' funny that.

 

[mickle]

You talk utter bollox

That's as may be.

What your cyclist did was wrong - possibly - but since riding up the inside of lorries is something cyclists do (often on an officially demarked cycle lane) the onus falls to you to take account of it. Isn't this the very reason that many lorries are being fitted with blind spot mirrors?

Get with the programme eh?

 

[Typhon]

Was the lorry driver overtaking at a junction ?
Doesn't excuse the cyclist for not indicating and moving without checking behind, but would mean the driver is partly to blame.

The cyclist may have been turning into a driveway or bridleway which the driver may not have been aware of though.

https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/overtaking-162-to-169

That was my thought on reading the article too. Sometimes drivers of motorised vehicles don't see overtaking cyclists as "overtaking" as such and are willing to do it right before a junction. If that was the case the driver is partly to blame. If he was just randomly turning into a driveway though then I would say he's not.

 

[jayonabike]

That's as may be.

What your cyclist did was wrong - possibly - but since riding up the inside of lorries is something cyclists do (often on an officially demarked cycle lane) the onus falls to you to take account of it. Isn't this the very reason that many lorries are being fitted with blind spot mirrors?

I don't know if you have noticed, but when driving you have to look forward in the direction you are traveling. You can't be constantly looking in your mirror to what is going on behind you as you might hit the vehicle in front. It takes a second, maybe two to overtake a lorry at speed, blind spot mirrors or not. There's no possibly about it, it IS wrong to undertake. And until cyclists ''get with the programme'' and understand the dangers of this, they are the ones who will come off worse.
Edit. There was no cycle lane, new, old, demarked, blue, red or otherwise.
Don't get me wrong, its up to everyone who uses the road to take care, and I'm not saying lorry drivers are blameless, but to automatically think the lorry driver is to blame when involved in an accident with a cyclist isn't right.
I'm a lorry driver, a car driver and a cyclist. I see it from every perspective of road user

 

[MontyVeda]

It is but doing it to another car is different as it's muffled by the car you're in. A person outside is always going to hear it louder and personally they hurt my ears (I also have to cover my ears when ambulances etc go past).

They're also threatening. I generally give the finger to drivers who do it to me. Rude, maybe, but it always puts the fear of Christ up me and I've nearly come off in the past.

me thinks you need to
a; understand and accept what a car horn is actually supposed to be used for
b; grow a pair

 

[jayonabike]

b; grow a pair

Will this do...

 

[Tigerbiten]

me thinks you need to
a; understand and accept what a car horn is actually supposed to be used for
b; grow a pair

I hate getting beeped at when I'm on my bent trike.
1; With twin rear view morrors I've probably seen you approch from behind.
2: My ears at the horn level so a lot of horns tend to be painfully loud.

I'm another one who tends to give a salute as an answer to a horn beep.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

If u dont like a toot from a horn then dont ride on the road, also if you think its the drivers fault, and remember at this point we only have one side to go of, what did you want the truck driver too do? If you cycle dangerously then you are responsible for your own actions. You cannot cycle under a truck then blame him.