BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
Dear Mr BOAB
Further to your email on Monday and ...........’s reply, I wanted to come back to you as ........ is away on leave from today. As I have also been involved with following up this issue, I did not want to hold matters up until his return in 2 weeks time.
Firstly, thank you for providing your video footage which we have shared with the driver of the vehicle. We spent some time studying it together so he could appreciate what he should have done differently. He clearly misjudged the space available which is not something we would expect from any of our drivers and whilst he did comment that he had anticipated that you may have moved onto the cycle lane alongside this narrow part of the road, he wholeheartedly accepts the consequences (and potential consequences) his misjudgement caused. He has assured us that it was not a deliberate attempt to scare you and we apologise to you if that is how it made you feel. He has also committed to taking greater care and attention at all times.
This is not the standard we have come to expect from our drivers during our past 15 years of trading and as a consequence, I have dealt with the matter under the guise of our internal discipline procedures as appropriate. I wanted to reassure you that we have taken the matter very seriously and the driver is left in no uncertainty as to what this means for him personally.
To take this one stage further I have also ensured that ALL of our drivers are reminded of our Vulnerable Road Users Policy and how this links with their day to day activities out on the road.
Your help in providing the video is appreciated as this has supported the necessary discussions with our driver - so thank you. I hope we have demonstrated to your satisfaction that we have dealt with the matter effectively.
Kind regards
Eezehaul
West Sussex,
Dear ,
Thank you for your speedy reply. I accept your apology on behalf of your driver.
The main thing is that I am not physically hurt, and neither were other road users or your driver. This was incredibly fortunate given his driving. I am sure your driver is a decent guy just going about his job, however I am pleased to hear that you have highlighted his shortcomings regarding what you term ‘vulnerable road users’ and hope that he will be more mindful in future.
I am a very experienced cyclist. I have ridden the Lands end John O’ Groats end to end, the entire length of Europe to the Med and back, and coast to coast across America. I know what I am doing on a bicycle. I ride IRO 50 miles every day and that particular stretch of road is well known to me. I say this because of his comment about cycle paths.
His view that I ‘may have moved into the cycle lane’ is typical of impatient lorry drivers I see out there every day. I have the right to decide if using cycle lanes is the safer option for me or not. In this case it isn’t. The lane is usually covered in glass and road debris, it has several roads crossing it and it stops abruptly forcing cyclists out into fast traffic from the rear. In addition my speed on that stretch can be 25mph which I feel unsafe for pedestrians. In my opinion your driver felt aggrieved that I was on the road and he decided to make a point by passing so close, even when there was clearly an oncoming car and it would put my life and theirs at risk. He was travelling much too fast for the situation and opted to pass dangerously close rather than slow down and wait a few seconds for a safe moment to pass. In short , rather than assuming a cyclist ‘may’ use the cycle path, he should assume that they may not. He should read the Highway Code and drive accordingly.
I say this for his benefit as well as other road users. Had I been hurt, I would have sent that video directly to the police.
Hopefully the next cyclist he sees in front of him will have a safer experience as a result of the discussions you have had with your driver.
Thank you once again.
BOAB
Further to your email on Monday and ...........’s reply, I wanted to come back to you as ........ is away on leave from today. As I have also been involved with following up this issue, I did not want to hold matters up until his return in 2 weeks time.
Firstly, thank you for providing your video footage which we have shared with the driver of the vehicle. We spent some time studying it together so he could appreciate what he should have done differently. He clearly misjudged the space available which is not something we would expect from any of our drivers and whilst he did comment that he had anticipated that you may have moved onto the cycle lane alongside this narrow part of the road, he wholeheartedly accepts the consequences (and potential consequences) his misjudgement caused. He has assured us that it was not a deliberate attempt to scare you and we apologise to you if that is how it made you feel. He has also committed to taking greater care and attention at all times.
This is not the standard we have come to expect from our drivers during our past 15 years of trading and as a consequence, I have dealt with the matter under the guise of our internal discipline procedures as appropriate. I wanted to reassure you that we have taken the matter very seriously and the driver is left in no uncertainty as to what this means for him personally.
To take this one stage further I have also ensured that ALL of our drivers are reminded of our Vulnerable Road Users Policy and how this links with their day to day activities out on the road.
Your help in providing the video is appreciated as this has supported the necessary discussions with our driver - so thank you. I hope we have demonstrated to your satisfaction that we have dealt with the matter effectively.
Kind regards
Eezehaul
West Sussex,
Dear ,
Thank you for your speedy reply. I accept your apology on behalf of your driver.
The main thing is that I am not physically hurt, and neither were other road users or your driver. This was incredibly fortunate given his driving. I am sure your driver is a decent guy just going about his job, however I am pleased to hear that you have highlighted his shortcomings regarding what you term ‘vulnerable road users’ and hope that he will be more mindful in future.
I am a very experienced cyclist. I have ridden the Lands end John O’ Groats end to end, the entire length of Europe to the Med and back, and coast to coast across America. I know what I am doing on a bicycle. I ride IRO 50 miles every day and that particular stretch of road is well known to me. I say this because of his comment about cycle paths.
His view that I ‘may have moved into the cycle lane’ is typical of impatient lorry drivers I see out there every day. I have the right to decide if using cycle lanes is the safer option for me or not. In this case it isn’t. The lane is usually covered in glass and road debris, it has several roads crossing it and it stops abruptly forcing cyclists out into fast traffic from the rear. In addition my speed on that stretch can be 25mph which I feel unsafe for pedestrians. In my opinion your driver felt aggrieved that I was on the road and he decided to make a point by passing so close, even when there was clearly an oncoming car and it would put my life and theirs at risk. He was travelling much too fast for the situation and opted to pass dangerously close rather than slow down and wait a few seconds for a safe moment to pass. In short , rather than assuming a cyclist ‘may’ use the cycle path, he should assume that they may not. He should read the Highway Code and drive accordingly.
I say this for his benefit as well as other road users. Had I been hurt, I would have sent that video directly to the police.
Hopefully the next cyclist he sees in front of him will have a safer experience as a result of the discussions you have had with your driver.
Thank you once again.
BOAB
