HGV/Cyclist visibility

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PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
In Richmond Park there was a "bike marking" scheme and an opportunity to sit in the cab of an HGV - a state of the art Crossrail approved vehicle with side bars, sensors extra mirrors - the whole works.

If you commute and have never been in an HGV, make a point of finding an opportunity to do so, the police run these sessions at various locations on a regular basis.

I was in the driver's seat and a bike and rider moved around the vehicle.

Two things were astonishing:

First, the sheer number of things the driver has to observe:
front window
side right
side left
rear view mirror left
rear view mirror right
side of truck cyclist mirror left
side of truck cyclist mirror right
front of truck cyclist mirror
cyclist sensor alarm
Have I missed any?

Second, despite all that, just how many places around the side and front of the vehicle in which a cyclist is invisible.

Confirmed for me that my longstanding approach is correct:
If I arrive first a the lights, I stop centrally. If an HGV pulls up behind, I move forward till i make eye contact with the driver.
If I arrive after and HGV, I never, ever under any circumstances ride up the inside, or the outside for that matter. I stop centrally well behind the HGV.
 
U

ufkacbln

Guest
My problem has always been the HGV pulling into an inappropriate position beside me!

Until that issue is resolved this whole HGV thing is a red herring
 
deptfordmarmoset

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
PK99 said:
In Richmond Park there was a "bike marking" scheme and an opportunity to sit in the cab of an HGV - a state of the art Crossrail approved vehicle with side bars, sensors extra mirrors - the whole works.

If you commute and have never been in an HGV, make a point of finding an opportunity to do so, the police run these sessions at various locations on a regular basis.

I was in the driver's seat and a bike and rider moved around the vehicle.

Two things were astonishing:

First, the sheer number of things the driver has to observe:
front window
side right
side left
rear view mirror left
rear view mirror right
side of truck cyclist mirror left
side of truck cyclist mirror right
front of truck cyclist mirror
cyclist sensor alarm
Have I missed any?

Second, despite all that, just how many places around the side and front of the vehicle in which a cyclist is invisible.

Confirmed for me that my longstanding approach is correct:
If I arrive first a the lights, I stop centrally. If an HGV pulls up behind, I move forward till i make eye contact with the driver.
If I arrive after and HGV, I never, ever under any circumstances ride up the inside, or the outside for that matter. I stop centrally well behind the HGV.
Click to expand...
So, are they safe to drive on public roads?
 
Angry Blonde

Angry Blonde

Über Member
Location
Sunderland
i am a wagon driver, cue the boos and hisses, but that aside, you would be amazed at how much more difficult it is than driving a car, butt to be fair, do you really think wagon drivers WANT to have accidents with cyclists. i have the benifit of being both a cyclist and a wagon driver so i know howw both think, but i also think non cycling hgv drivers do their best not to endanger cyclists, but moving off and turning, i have myself nearly came a cropper with a bike, they pull away really slow, and when youve looked all round your wagon, if a cyclist comes into a gap youve allready checked, what you meant to do, you cant physically see all the way around at once.
 
Trevor_P

Trevor_P

Senior Member
Location
Hawkinge Kent
Cunobelin said:
My problem has always been the HGV pulling into an inappropriate position beside me!

Until that issue is resolved this whole HGV thing is a red herring
Click to expand...
Red herring or not , It won't help you when you are dead. It's the blame the driver culture on here that really annoys me. Even when sensible people like the OP post something that is helpful and really good advice, you get the nay sayers that come along and put their 5p worth in. Do something sensible for once, follow his advice if you get the chance. It might save your life one day.
 
Last edited:
TheDoctor

TheDoctor

Noble and true, with a heart of steel
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
Angry Blonde said:
i am a wagon driver, cue the boos and hisses, but that aside, you would be amazed at how much more difficult it is than driving a car, butt to be fair, do you really think wagon drivers WANT to have accidents with cyclists. i have the benifit of being both a cyclist and a wagon driver so i know howw both think, but i also think non cycling hgv drivers do their best not to endanger cyclists, but moving off and turning, i have myself nearly came a cropper with a bike, they pull away really slow, and when youve looked all round your wagon, if a cyclist comes into a gap youve allready checked, what you meant to do, you cant physically see all the way around at once.
Click to expand...
I'm sure they don't, but there's some who don't seem to give a toss whether they do or not.
If HGVs are so hard to drive safely, why are they allowed on the roads?
 
Angry Blonde

Angry Blonde

Über Member
Location
Sunderland
there not hard to drive safely, but the are loads of blind spots, lower down where cyclists and pedestrians seem to feel the need to sneek past, i mean personally i would stay well away from 20 plus tonne of moving metal, just a thought, why do cyclists feel the need they have to get in front of wagons, why not just wait one minute for it to pull away, like i do....... you speed off close to the wagon, then the wagon catches back up and has to overtake, which gives us cyclists twice the danger.....
 
Trevor_P

Trevor_P

Senior Member
Location
Hawkinge Kent
Here we go again, I agree with @Angry Blonde , having driven around 2,000,000 miles in wagons, what he says makes sense. Whilst properly checking mirrors amongst the other things you are checking such as lights, traffic flow, pedestrians, parked vehicles when stationary it is possible for cyclists to sneak in to danger areas under the radar especially when they are in a hurry.

As for the why are they allowed on the roads argument, that isn't going to change in the foreseeable future. So for saftey's sake take the sensible advice offered if you get a chance.
 
summerdays

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Trevor_P said:
Red herring or not , It won't help you when you are dead. It's the blame the driver culture on here that really annoys me. Even when sensible people like the OP post something that is helpful and really good advice, you get the nay sayers that come along and put their 5p worth in. Do something sensible for once, follow his advice if you get the chance. It might save your life one day.
Click to expand...
@Cunobelin point was valid, you can do all the things in the OP and still end up in the blind spot or an area you don't want to be in because of the driver of the HGV. I've sat in the cab myself on one of those experience the view from the other side, it didn't stop my close call with a HGV.
 
Trevor_P

Trevor_P

Senior Member
Location
Hawkinge Kent
summerdays said:
@Cunobelin point was valid, you can do all the things in the OP and still end up in the blind spot or an area you don't want to be in because of the driver of the HGV. I've sat in the cab myself on one of those experience the view from the other side, it didn't stop my close call with a HGV.
Click to expand...
Only half the point was valid. Yes there are bad HGV drivers out there. However that doesn't mean the OP's advice should be disregarded or is a red herring. If it were me with the bad HGV driver next to me, I'd just get out of the way until he's gone, for my own safety. It's annoying as hell, but there's little that can be done at the moment to weed out the bad ones.

If you've sat in the drivers seat, then you must have benefited from the experience.
 
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