More Lorry Danger for Cyclists?

[flecc]

There's an active proposal for articulated lorries to be allowed a 2 metre increase in length, and the DfT and ministers are said to be inclined to agree.

The argument for is that the truck and trailer combinations on the road can already be this length, but this is an invalid argument which illustrates why technical decisions should be subject to proper technical scrutiny.

The geometry of a truck towing point compensates for the towed trailer, enabling it to follow the same path around a bend as the towing truck. The semi-trailer of an articulated truck does not do that, it cuts a corner, and a longer wheelbase increases the amount by which a corner is cut, and therefore the danger to cyclists.

Since the purpose of the longer truck application is to increase the space for light load content, the extra length may also be added by a two metre increase in tail overhang. This is an equally frightening prospect on our narrow roads, also for all other road users, since the tail swing out will be extreme at times and capable of blocking opposite lanes.

I think this 2 metre addition (nearly 7 feet) is a step too far, made worse by a haulage industry spokesman refusing to rule out a further application for greater tonnage and length in future. Of course with every step in this direction, road haulage makes it ever more difficult for rail to compete and relieve our roads of bulk freight, which is surely a desirable objective that we should not be obstructing.
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[z0mb13e]

If the tail over hang is longer would it swing over the pavement on a right hand bend?

I live in hope that someone in the transport ministry has done the maths and that all your points have been considered.

Either way trucks make me nervous (when I am on a bike that is) when they are approaching, overtaking and/or sitting in traffic in front of me, I am ready to make for the pavement...

 

[Trex 850]

If the tail over hang is longer would it swing over the pavement on a right hand bend?

I live in hope that someone in the transport ministry has done the maths and that all your points have been considered.

Either way trucks make me nervous (when I am on a bike that is) when they are approaching, overtaking and/or sitting in traffic in front of me, I am ready to make for the pavement...

Had to do that only yesterday morning while cycling to work,,,
Ended up pulling quite sharply at a bus stop and almost scattering a load of people who where standing there !!,, fortunately, I stopped in time . Some woman came up to me and offered to be a witness but nobody could recall the whole number plate of the lorry- I've given what details I could recall to the police but am not holding my breath.

 

[steveindenmark]

Most cycle deaths in Denmark are caused at junctions where lorries are turning right (nearside turns) as we drive on the right.

The highway services have introduced all sorts of measures to help combat this and are having some good results. I believe we have had only one cyclist killed since last October in the whole of Denmark.

What the highway commission cannot do however is to drum it into some really thick cyclists heads that if you squeeze yourselves along the side of a lorry that there is a good chance that the driver will not see you. Again it is the mentality on the part of the cyclist of "It is my right of way and I am taking it...regardless".

I am an ex lorry driver of 20 odd years, a cyclist, car driver and motorcyclists and I can tell you for sure that the lorry will always win. I always keep well away from them and let them get out of the way. I am well down the foodchain when it comes to lorries.

Just to give you an idea what a trucker feels when he runs a cyclists over that he does not see.

I was driving an artic through Hull with 20 tons of paper on the back when due to no fault of my own I ran a back wheel over the bonnet of a mini. I thought it was just a pothole. It was only the next day when I received a call from the police that I was told it was a mini. Nothing happened to me with regards to the police, the driver was not injured and the front of the mini was demolished. The woman driver was totally to blame for the accident.

If a trucker runs you over he will probably not even feel it. So avoid them like the plague.

Steve

 

[flecc]

With regard to what truck drivers feel, there's also the effect that a cyclist accident can have on their feelings. When in a subsequent driving job, an ex employee of mine with an eight year perfect accident free driving record suffered one of these nearside cyclist accidents, the cyclist breaking his leg under his truck wheel.

The effect on him accidentally hurting someone like that was so great that he packed in the job immediately in disgust and has never driven a truck again. In fact he seemed to lose all enjoyment of driving, later getting rid of his car and for years now only using public transport and occasionally cycling.
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[Bikealot]

SUPERLORRY]Lincoln news, Local Lincolnshire news | This is Lincolnshire pioneer Dick Denby believes it is now just a matter of time before monster trucks like his 25.25m-long vehicle are allowed to run on Britain's roads.[/url]

This recent article carries a photo of one of the 'super lorries'. Lincolnshire has no motorways, relatively few dual carriage ways, and in fact the roads around this company's depot are all single carriage way.

Flecc is totally right!!

 

[Trex 850]

Most cycle deaths in Denmark are caused at junctions where lorries are turning right (nearside turns) as we drive on the right.

The highway services have introduced all sorts of measures to help combat this and are having some good results. I believe we have had only one cyclist killed since last October in the whole of Denmark.

What the highway commission cannot do however is to drum it into some really thick cyclists heads that if you squeeze yourselves along the side of a lorry that there is a good chance that the driver will not see you. Again it is the mentality on the part of the cyclist of "It is my right of way and I am taking it...regardless".

I am an ex lorry driver of 20 odd years, a cyclist, car driver and motorcyclists and I can tell you for sure that the lorry will always win. I always keep well away from them and let them get out of the way. I am well down the foodchain when it comes to lorries.

Just to give you an idea what a trucker feels when he runs a cyclists over that he does not see.

I was driving an artic through Hull with 20 tons of paper on the back when due to no fault of my own I ran a back wheel over the bonnet of a mini. I thought it was just a pothole. It was only the next day when I received a call from the police that I was told it was a mini. Nothing happened to me with regards to the police, the driver was not injured and the front of the mini was demolished. The woman driver was totally to blame for the accident.

If a trucker runs you over he will probably not even feel it. So avoid them like the plague.

Steve

Point taken, but, my problem was the lorry driver was OVERTAKING ME and it was only thru preventative action - me getting on to the pavement, that an accident didn't occur.
Glad I rode motorcycles all those years as I not sure I would like to ride a cycle on today's roads without that experience,,,,

 

[billadie]

Most cycle deaths in Denmark are caused at junctions where lorries are turning right (nearside turns) as we drive on the right.

The highway services have introduced all sorts of measures to help combat this and are having some good results. I believe we have had only one cyclist killed since last October in the whole of Denmark.

What the highway commission cannot do however is to drum it into some really thick cyclists heads that if you squeeze yourselves along the side of a lorry that there is a good chance that the driver will not see you. Again it is the mentality on the part of the cyclist of "It is my right of way and I am taking it...regardless".

I am an ex lorry driver of 20 odd years, a cyclist, car driver and motorcyclists and I can tell you for sure that the lorry will always win. I always keep well away from them and let them get out of the way. I am well down the foodchain when it comes to lorries.

Just to give you an idea what a trucker feels when he runs a cyclists over that he does not see.

I was driving an artic through Hull with 20 tons of paper on the back when due to no fault of my own I ran a back wheel over the bonnet of a mini. I thought it was just a pothole. It was only the next day when I received a call from the police that I was told it was a mini. Nothing happened to me with regards to the police, the driver was not injured and the front of the mini was demolished. The woman driver was totally to blame for the accident.

If a trucker runs you over he will probably not even feel it. So avoid them like the plague.

Steve

What is the significance of the mini driver's gender?

 

[Scimitar]

What is the significance of the mini driver's gender?

Quite so, women have no monopoly on crap driving.

 

[flecc]

What is the significance of the mini driver's gender?

This may have relevance. The incidence of cyclist deaths caused by them riding up the nearside of trucks and stopping there is widely accepted to be predominantly female. Of cyclist deaths in London year before last, of 13 deaths from all causes, seven were female cyclists in these truck nearside accidents.

There's a belief that this is due to their being more cautious than males, not jumping red lights or stopping ahead of the stop line and truck, therefore being more frequently stationary in a dangerous position.
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[steveindenmark]

Quite so, women have no monopoly on crap driving.

Quite so. My apologies. It was not the point I was making. I would suggest that there are more crap men drivers than women.

The road systems in the UK are just not made for cyclists. If they give you a cycle path they are a narrow strip at the side of the road where you have to ride over the drainage grids or swerve into the road to avoid them.

Luckily in Denmark, cyclists are top of the pecking order and we basically get whatever we ask for. The infrastructure for cyclists is first class which is why so many people use bikes. Until the UK government realise that if they do not put the infastructure in place for cyclists, they will never reduce the amount of motorised traffic.

Steve