I thought this cyclist was going to die...

[marinyork]

I might have gone on the right once in the tunnel and traffic had stopped. Depends where you're going really. Out of sheer curiosity I might have gone up the cycle bypass.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

At about 15 years of age I was cycling along Hedon Road in Hull, when a large truck passed me close,the ratchet of the curtain side struck me and sent me arse ofer tip onto the pavement.

I have NEVER forgotten that brush with the cycling statistics.

Perhaps however I am lucky....I got given a warning.

 

[Tynan]

that just means ride wider, have better lights/viz, avoid that road or be luckier though surely

 

[thomas]

Even the second one was significantly dodgy, IMO. I wouldn't have gone up the right (and didn't)because I couldn't tell when the lights would change, and there's usually a lot of lane changing going on there at the exit to the gyratory.

I wouldn't have gone either time...but the second time was probably realitively safe. The lorry didn't seem to be going anywhere and wasn't turning left....but far too tight for my liking.

 

[BentMikey]

I might have, maybe, probably not though given the narrow road and the tunnel

Yes, it's not that I'll never go up the left of a lorry, but definitely not in this specific situation. Funnily enough I went up the left of one on the way in on this very commute, he was in the offside lane and I went up the bus lane, still with loads of attention to the lorry's wheels and the lights.

@Thomas my bike is much narrower than his, and even I didn't take that space on the right. Knowing that gyratory exit, I didn't think it was a good idea. The risk was only a little higher, but the potential consequences are far too high.

 

[hackbike 666]

Good video worth having so long as it does the job of explaining why it is so dangerous to go up the wrong side of a lorry.You can only do so much for a lemming as I have found out with yelling at dangerous peds for twenty years.It just doesn't .seem to make the blind bit of difference.

Hopefully your video will.

 

[Origamist]

being alongside a long vehicle approaching a junction of any kind, yes, but they don't explode, the rest of the time they go in straight lines, they're better driven that most other vehicles

yes be wary of them and careful at certain times but this seeming acceptance that they have a zoe of death to their left is nonsense, it's like telling girls they'll get pregnant from toilet seats

a bit anyway

The road system is not a Pac-Man maze: vehicles do not go in straight lines.

That's one shoot analogy - you only have to look at the statistics to see that hundreds of cyclists have died on the left of HGVs.

 

[stowie]

I really don't like the left side of buses and lorries. If stationary, if there is clear space between, no railings to block an escape and no other good alternative, I may decide on up the left side, but it is incredibly rare I decide this is worth it.

Mostly I am filtering to get to the front of traffic lights for two reasons. So I can be clearly seen by the traffic - if the lorry is first in the queue, by filtering in front I may have made visibility much worse, and also so I only have a maximum of one light sequence change to wait. The second argument isn't strong enough to filter left past a lorry when I have any doubt at all.

I filter right all the time past all stationary traffic. But lorries I make sure I take an extra wide berth.

This is why I am an advocate of segregation at major traffic lights, but only if cyclists have priority, and don't have to wait 3 changes of traffic lights before going, and the cycle path is sensible, wide, and has easy and safe entrance and exit from the road itself. Of course, with our shoot infrastructure, the cycle lanes are poor on straight bits of road and then panic and disappear completely in the face of something more tricky like a junction.

 

[Browser]

"And some fell on stony ground...". Some people juct can't be told, they have to find out for themselves

 

[661-Pete]

Since I'm in good company, I'll say here when and where I think I can go down the left (right if outside UK) side of a lorry or bus.

• The vehicle has to be completely stationary, and I've got to be sure it's going to remain stationary for the time it takes me to pass it. Being a long way back in the queue, with nothing moving up front, is a good indicator. I never undertake a moving lorry.
• There must be enough room for me to pass, with no obstructions.
• I must have an escape route in case of something unexpected (like the nearside door opening) e.g. being able to hop up on the pavement. No railings.
• There needs to be a sensible reason for me wanting to pass - just passing one lorry only to find myself on the nearside of another one, is no good.
• There must be a good reason why the overtake on the right is less safe: e.g. fast-approaching oncoming vehicles.

This checklist is probably not exhaustive, but it gives you some idea. One has to be able to do it mentally - and quickly.

 

[Bromptonaut]

^^^^

+1

 

[CopperBrompton]

Yep, and the end result of that analysis is very, very rarely going to take you up the left-hand side of a long vehicle, IMV.

I've witnessed what Arch describes: an articulated truck stuck in solid traffic, then a motorcycle paramedic comes filtering up the middle, blues and twos going. All of the traffic on the left, including the truck, found enough room to pull to the left. Any cyclist who'd relied on the 'lots of traffic, lorry got nowhere to go' line of reasoning would have been squished.

 

[GrasB]

Everyone has missed the most important bit of passing an HGV in traffic, look in his mirror & damn well make sure that you make eye contact with the driver.

I've been on the 'pavement' the other side of the road to get a sight line to a driver & make eye contact with him... who thanked me & carried on.

 

[schlafsack]

On the second overtake, it's also worth noting how narrow that gap up the left side was. Looks to me like he was pushing himself along with a foot, which suggests that there was not enough room for his cranks to turn. Although the lorry is stationary, personally, I'd never want to be that close to an HGV on my bike, both have sticky-out bits that can easily catch.

 

[BentMikey]

I don't think I would like to rely on making eye contact with a driver. I mean you could get a fairly high degree of confidence that a driver has seen you when you get some interactive non-verbal communication going on, but that's still not a good reason to make yourself vulnerable to them.