Truck hazard

[Euro]

My fellow truck drivers and I are distressed by the number of truck/cyclist incidents (see trucknet). If any of my family were cycling, I would ask them to bolt on one of those compressed-air foghorns as used by recreational sailors.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Euro,

Agreed it is very tragic, but if the cyclist has to resort to sounding a compressed air horn, something has already gone very badly wrong, either the cyclist has put themselves into a very bad place, or the driver has not been observant enough.

Alan...

 

[byegad]

I understand your concerns, having a son with a Class1 licence I know how much, or little, is visible from the cab. The Air Zound is a pump filled air horn with 120+db output, loud enough for all but the deaf, or loud heavy metal listening drivers. However, as a cyclist, I feel the real solution would be better education of cyclists and the fitting of some sort of sensor to lorries to avoid the left turning crushing accident. Cyclists should know not to go there and drivers should easily know if a cyclist is there! However you cannot legislate completely for human error.

 

[Koga]

There is no quick cure here.
The roads would need improving, all traffic members would need educating (cyclist, car drivers, truck drivers) and in general peoples mentality and priorities would need changing.
There also is the issue of no real political will or ambition to encourage and make cycling safe.

 

[fossyant]

Euro, you are coming here to the converted. The answer for cyclists is to stay well away from big vehicles, and not to try and squeeze past.

 

[rbreid]

Living in the "real" world and not an "ideal world" I do have an Airzound fitted as well as a bell and yes it has proved a life saver on more than one occasion.

 

[Teuchter]

After the spate of deaths this last couple of weeks in London, I was thinking about exactly this on the way in this morning while watching another cyclist bombing up the inside of a line of cars, inches from the doors of parked cars on one side and not thinking to even slow down as he undertook past junctions.

While every death on the roads is a tragedy, I can't help but feel that a lot of cyclists put themselves in situations where it's only their luck that is carrying them through. On a regular basis I see other cyclists over/under taking lines of traffic next to junctions - including lorries and buses who would have next to no chance to see them.

It's the driver who kills a cyclist who they could have had no possibility of seeing and would have no reason to suspect had been stupid enough to put themselves there that I feel the most sorry for.

I must say that among the various professional drivers I come across on the roads, lorry drivers are consistently the most mindful of me as a cyclist (this in comparison to many bus, taxi and white van drivers).

 

[Koga]

Living in the "real" world and not an "ideal world" I do have an Airzound fitted as well as a bell and yes it has proved a life saver on more than one occasion.

I haven't seen that one before, looks brilliant. Can you give some product feedback on this ?

 

[rbreid]

I haven't seen that one before, looks brilliant. Can you give some product feedback on this ?

You have message

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Interesting (but entirely predictable) to see how truck drivers view the current state of affairs - http://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=106925

 

[Brandane]

Interesting (but entirely predictable) to see how truck drivers view the current state of affairs - http://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=106925

Looks like a mixed bag of opinions, much the same as can be found on CC..
There are a few valid points made by the posters, which I have had personal experience of, during my 6 years driving an artic. For example, unlit cyclists coming up the nearside of an HGV turning left on a dark rainy night. What chance has a driver got of seeing them, 40' away in a mirror covered in rain drops?

Some cyclists make mistakes and do stupid things on the roads; you would need to be in serious denial not to accept that. Those same cyclists need to take a good look at their vulnerability and take sensible measures to reduce it. Riding sensibly and making themselves visible to other road users for starters.

Likewise, some truck drivers need to look at themselves and realise the dangers they can cause to the more vulnerable road users. I can say with hand on heart that the vast majority of guys I worked with in my trucking days were very professional whilst at the wheel of a truck. They have to be, or they wouldn't be driving for long!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

The answer for cyclists is to stay well away from big vehicles...

It's a two-way thing; they should stay away from each other.

GC

 

[Markymark]

I steer well clear of large vehicles but I do tend to feel in my experience in London that the driving is of a high standrd and they are aware. I have seen more instances of large vehicles taking evasive action around silly cyclists than the other way around. This morning. If the tipper trunk hadn't stopped he would have hit the cyclist undertakng (no cycle lane) the indicating lorry arriving at the lights.

 

[Frood42]

Hmmmm, so I have to have an airhorn on my bike now do I.....
I stay back from big vehicles, but you are the one bringing a large vehicle onto the road that increases the danger to every other road user, so you are the one who needs to take on some extra responsibilty for that large vehicle and the damage it can do.

Education of cyclists to help mitigate is one factor in this, but the fact remains you are increasing the danger levels to every other road user with what you bring to the road, so it is the larger vehicle that needs to be looked at, be it restricted delivery hours etc...

Most lorry drivers have been fine, the only ones I am concerned about are those contracter driven tipper trucks, they seem to be the worst for some reason, where as supermarket vehicles seem to be less so, actually no major issues with supermarket logo'd large vehicles yet...

And I do have to laugh that they say the roads are too dangerous for cyclists and they should be removed from the roads, who do they think is creating that danger...

All these generalisations are really starting to get on my nerves!
I don't jump red lights, I have lights, I have a helmet (not needed by law), I stay back from large vehicles, I don't ride on the pavement (unless it is a shared space pavement, then I go slowly to look out for pedestrians), I let buses out from bus stops, I ride in a visible position... FFS, now I have to have a horn!

Do you know what, F*K right off!


Rant over, all calm now

.

 

[Globalti]

Having seen the stupidity of some cyclists and as a veteran hitchhiker and one-time 3 ton truck driver, having seen the care and professionalism of most truck drivers, I have to say that I think most of the blame lies with cyclists as a disorganised, ill-mannered and ill-trained shower.