Cycle death case handling 'may need to change'

On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:08:20 UTC, me wrote:
I ride a bike to get to get from a to b. Not to çower in doorways!

Same here - I ride as a road vehicle and get treated as such. No riding on pavements or the side of the road for me.

On 26/10/2015 16:07, Alycidon wrote:

On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:08:20 UTC, me wrote:

I ride a bike to get to get from a to b. Not to çower in doorways!

Same here - I ride as a road vehicle and get treated as such. No riding on pavements or the side of the road for me.

We've *seen* you ride on footways.

On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:08:20 UTC, me wrote:
I ride a bike to get to get from a to b. Not to çower in doorways!

I did that once when there was a sudden flash flood though :-)

On 26/10/2015 14:13, colwyn wrote:

Problem is: I sit on my bike at a red traffic light, vehicle* pulls up
alongside on my right intending to turn left. Lights change to green, I
would expect the vehicle* to cede priority to me and turn after I have
cleared the crossing and not run me over because I am now in a blind spot!
Alternatively, I wait and vehicle* on my right starts to turn in front
of me, do I now wait to be dragged under the rear wheels?
(*Vehicle = bus, car, lorry with or without trailer, rear wheels go
frequently over the pavement even.)

Simple solution. Use a viable form of transport & not a child's toy.

On 26/10/2015 12:24, colwyn wrote:



I have known vehicles pulling up alongside me, whilst waiting for lights
to change. Do you suggest cyclists should cede precedence to the *****
trying to turn left?

Of course. Cyclist scum should know their place.

On Mon, 26 Oct 2015 09:15:33 -0700 (PDT)
Alycidon wrote:

On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:08:20 UTC, me wrote:
I ride a bike to get to get from a to b. Not to çower in doorways!

I did that once when there was a sudden flash flood though :-)

As opposed to a more leisurely flash flood?

On Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:52:17 +0000, Bod wrote:

On 26/10/2015 11:48, JNugent wrote:
On 26/10/2015 11:27, Bod wrote:

On 26/10/2015 11:16, JNugent wrote:
On 26/10/2015 08:26, Bod wrote:

The way cycling deaths are treated by police and prosecutors may
need to change, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

Last year a Freedom of Information request by BBC's Newsbeat found
that between 2007 and 2014 there were 276 recorded incidents where a
cyclist was killed in an accident involving a motor vehicle.
Of these, 148 - 54% - resulted in the driver of the vehicle being
charged with an offence. Of those found guilty, fewer than half went
to prison.

Why need anything "change"?
276/7 = 39 (rounded).
Less than one per week.

A significant proportion of those seem to occur in circumstances
where the cyclist is attempting to undertake a large vehicle (bus,
lorry) which is turning left.

You say the lorry- or bus-driver should go to jail anyway, do you?

If it is deemed by a judge to be the lorry or bus driver's fault, then
of course.

We use the jury system in the UK.

BTW, it's in the highway code that any vehicle can undertake *if* the
traffic to their right is moving slower.

But not that they may undertake when the vehicle ahead is turning left.
And that's the issue.

Undertaking - RAC www.rac.co.uk › Forum › Driving › General Driving
Discussion 8 Sep 2011 - 10 posts - ‎6 authors stay in your lane if
traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is
moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left.
... However, whilst there is no specific offence of undertaking, we
still have careless ...

...yes... and?

You're the one who brought up undertaking. I'm just clarifying the
legality of such a manouvre.

It might be legal but I find it is very unsafe.
If I happen to be alongside the lorry I cannot see his indicators (if he
wants to turn left) and he can't see me (blind spot; his mirror is too
high).

On 27/10/2015 09:25, Peter Keller wrote:
On Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:52:17 +0000, Bod wrote:

On 26/10/2015 11:48, JNugent wrote:
On 26/10/2015 11:27, Bod wrote:

On 26/10/2015 11:16, JNugent wrote:
On 26/10/2015 08:26, Bod wrote:

The way cycling deaths are treated by police and prosecutors may
need to change, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

Last year a Freedom of Information request by BBC's Newsbeat found
that between 2007 and 2014 there were 276 recorded incidents where a
cyclist was killed in an accident involving a motor vehicle.
Of these, 148 - 54% - resulted in the driver of the vehicle being
charged with an offence. Of those found guilty, fewer than half went
to prison.

Why need anything "change"?
276/7 = 39 (rounded).
Less than one per week.

A significant proportion of those seem to occur in circumstances
where the cyclist is attempting to undertake a large vehicle (bus,
lorry) which is turning left.

You say the lorry- or bus-driver should go to jail anyway, do you?

If it is deemed by a judge to be the lorry or bus driver's fault, then
of course.

We use the jury system in the UK.

BTW, it's in the highway code that any vehicle can undertake *if* the
traffic to their right is moving slower.

But not that they may undertake when the vehicle ahead is turning left.
And that's the issue.

Undertaking - RAC www.rac.co.uk › Forum › Driving › General Driving
Discussion 8 Sep 2011 - 10 posts - ‎6 authors stay in your lane if
traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is
moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left.
... However, whilst there is no specific offence of undertaking, we
still have careless ...

...yes... and?

You're the one who brought up undertaking. I'm just clarifying the
legality of such a manouvre.

It might be legal but I find it is very unsafe.
If I happen to be alongside the lorry I cannot see his indicators (if he
wants to turn left) and he can't see me (blind spot; his mirror is too
high).

Yes it can be very unsafe, but that's where common sense and experience
comes in.

"colwyn" wrote

I have known vehicles pulling up alongside me, whilst waiting for lights
to change. Do you suggest cyclists should cede precedence to the *****
trying to turn left?

Depends on your acceleration when the lights change. Or the stop line is
usually set well back from the mouth of the junction so you could prepare by
moving forward by a wheel or more.

"Peter Keller" wrote
On Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:52:17 +0000, Bod wrote:

You're the one who brought up undertaking. I'm just clarifying the
legality of such a manouvre.

It might be legal but I find it is very unsafe.
If I happen to be alongside the lorry I cannot see his indicators (if he
wants to turn left) and he can't see me (blind spot; his mirror is too
high).

It depends where you do it. A left turn does not magically appear out of
nowhere and a vehicle can't move while the vehicles ahead of it are
stationary.