Cyclist dies in crash with lorry at Ludgate Circus junction

Google it, and you'll see that getting hit by a garbage truck is a popular way to get squashed in other cities, too.

Along with buses and snow plows. I think it's the boring repetitiveness
of the job.

Vehicle handling characteristics maybe? A friend once considered driving a cement truck when looking for a new job. Until he learned that those things are so heavy that they are ridiculously slow to stop... so much so that many or most of those who do have killed somebody. Also they are so heavy that they don't have suspensions. They have soft seats and soft tires.

On 4/4/2014 9:14 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, April 4, 2014 5:42:02 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 4/4/2014 6:16 PM, Duane wrote:





Or what if the truck passed the cyclist and puts him inside his turn?



This is a good reason to ride in a prominent lane position. They're

less likely to forget immediately after they've passed.



If the lane is very wide (or you're in a bike lane) and a car or truck

half-passes just before an intersection then begins slowing, one should

take it as a very serious warning. Get ready to do some quick evasive

maneuvers.

Yes, drop back and prepare to go around, if possible. A bus did that to me last week -- went by and then immediately cut over at pretty high speed, lining up for a stop. I'm going between 25-30mph (mild downhill); I dropped back; the the bus pulls over; I go around . . . and the bus pulls out, having decided no one wanted to get on/off. I'm directly next to the bus and get pushed in to middle of two, fast moving lanes. I'm trying to drop back without getting killed by cars behind the bus. And then some asswipe in a car yells at me. "You're going to get yourself killed, etc., etc. -- as though I planned to be riding where I was. F****** moroon.

After that occurred, I'd suggest a phone call or (better) a letter to
the transit authority. And since you're in PDX, one to your advocacy
organization and a prominent blogger as well.

Not that such tactics always work. One of our most dedicated local
cyclists was forced to the curb by a bus. She did phone the transit
authority. The guy in charge said "Well, the driver has to stay on time."

I'd have escalated the issue at that point, but she chose not to.


I also agree that on narrow roads with slow moving traffic, it does pay to take the lane. Getting in to traffic is sometimes difficult though, depending on traffic speed and sight lines.

-- Jay Beattie.



--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:11:29 -0700, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Cyclist dies in crash with lorry at Ludgate Circus junction

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londo...sh-with-lorry-
at-ludgate-circus-junction-9235134.html

Cheers

There are two ways death could have been avoided. The collision could
have been avoided. The collision need not have been lethal.

I choose to address the second. Many cyclists (and many pedestrians too)
suffer right hook (left hook in England) deaths because they are pushed
under a truck/bus and run over by the wheels.

Trucks and buses can equipped with skirts that would prevent bikes or
pedestrians from falling under the vehicle. The skirts would push the
bike or pedestrian back away from the vehicle.

The major cause of injury after falling under a truck or bus is being run
over by the wheels. There are already wheel guards that would push any
object (human) away from the wheels.

There has been a great reduction in driver fatality rates during the past
50 years. Most of that reduction has been due to making collisions less
lethal not reducing collision frequency. I think it's time effort was
expended to make vehicle/pedestrian and vehicle/cyclist collisions less
lethal.

Stephen Bauman

http://goo.gl/Ah4lUV