HGV vs cyclist

[Origamist]

I'm not sure I completely understand why so many HGV drivers and experts alike talk about the blind spots of lorries, based on what you say. Are they just talking bullsh1t, and are they all incompetent at setting mirrors?

I thought this video from the Met Exchanging Places programme was pretty decent at showing the visibility when passing a lorry in a number of different ways:


View: http://youtu.be/uPkbNFt5NuY

Charlie at the LCC has said that HGVs with a full complement of mirrors that are properly adjusted have good (but not perfect) visibility around their vehicle.

The crux of the matter is that only a proportion of HGVs have all of their mirrors (as they are not required to by law) and even if they have all of the mirrors (six I believe), they are not always correctly adjusted or utilised. This means that plenty of HGVs are on the roads with significant blind spots.

 

[Dan B]

I don't think it's yet been mentioned in this thread, but the situation also changes when the driver is turning and (in an artic) there's an angle between cab and trailer. The Moving Target forum has a good article on this http://www.movingtargetzine.com/forum/discussion/598/hgv-blind-spots-from-nozzer/ (it makes much more sense if you skip down to the text and then read that in conjunction with the images instead of trying to make sense of the images first)

 

[Bottom Bracket]

I've read it from the start. But I fail to see your point. You state your self that other lorry drivers basically couldn't care, how does that solve te situation that a disproportionate amount of cycle deaths involve vehicles that make up a small percentage of overall vehicle usuage?
Or the fact that there is no way to confirm that a lorries mirrors are set up correctly.

I've sat in a tipper truck and with only 2 mirrors there are blind spots!

All HGVs (ie more than 7.5 tonnes plated weight) have had more than one nearside mirror for longer than I can remember. Sometimes they get knocked off, but that is a different issue

BB

 

[Origamist]

I don't think it's yet been mentioned in this thread, but the situation also changes when the driver is turning and (in an artic) there's an angle between cab and trailer. The Moving Target forum has a good article on this http://www.movingtargetzine.com/forum/discussion/598/hgv-blind-spots-from-nozzer/ (it makes much more sense if you skip down to the text and then read that in conjunction with the images instead of trying to make sense of the images first)

Those images (particularly 1 and 2, I remember well as they gave an idea of blindspots and the problem of left hooks) were created before Class V and VI mirrors were mandated on more recent HGVs. However, I should think it is accurate for a lot of HGVs still on the road.

 

[Camgreen]

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but noticed this piece in the Independent yesterday. http://ind.pn/k6DJ3r

 

[Bottom Bracket]

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but noticed this piece in the Independent yesterday. http://ind.pn/k6DJ3r

[/quote]

The most crucial part of the Independent article is that the driver had seen the cyclist long before he/she started to undertake - the blind spot under the driver's nearside window should have been covered by the down-mirror above the door, but if the cyclist was about a metre or so away from the truck, then he/she may well have been invisible. But if there was a metre or so's clearance, then there is room enough to avoid death

BB

ps - if the cyclist had been significantly more than a metre away from the truck, then he/she would have been visible in the driver's normal peripheral vision without the aid of mirrors

 

[Camgreen]

Interesting article. Obviously his little gizmo won't do any harm, so long as it doesn't replace standard procedures. Equally obviously, this particularly bit of equipment is hardly standard issue either.

Simon Usborne seems to have covered a few bike related bits and pieces in the past; anyone know of him; he seems to be a journo who sees the cyclist perspective more than the average at least.

 

[Night Train]

Having well placed and adjusted mirrors still isn't sufficient to ensure that a cyclist is seen by the truck driver.

If the driver was looking at another potential hazard on the other side of the truck at the time then they may not be aware of a cyclist appearing briefly in the other mirrors that were not being watched.
Also if the truck is moving the driver's concentration may well be mostly on the potential hazards ahead and less so on a small moving target in any one of the many mirrors.

Defensive driving or riding would go a long way to ensure any road user isn't putting themselves in a potentially risky position with regards to other road users.