Cyclist dead after being hit by garbage truck in west Ottawa

On 11/29/2014 12:18 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:00:39 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

The cyclist was apparently hit by a right-turning truck. Right hooks
(or left hooks in drive-on-left countries) are a very serious problem
with large vehicles.

Best advice for a cyclist is, don't be there.

True, if you can. A few years back a cyclist was killed in downtown
Minneapolis. He was in the bike lane stopped at a stoplight and a dump
trailer truck turned right on the red. The trailer swung in, caught him
on some protrusion and dragged him under the trailer wheels. Horrible.
Poor guy was just minding his own business on his way home from work and
the truck driver misjudged the swing on his trailer (which surprises me,
since they know it happens).

That sort of thing is not uncommon. As we've mentioned here before,
it's been recognized as one of the dominant bike fatality mechanisms in
London, as well as other places.

I suppose in some cases the driver might misjudge the swing of the
trailer, but that would be surprising. Big rig drivers deal with that
problem every day. I think it's more likely that the driver simply
didn't see that a cyclist was there. It's been shown to be difficult
for a trucker to see a cyclist that comes up on the blind side, even
when using a collection of mirrors.

http://www.theguardian.com/environme...fety-bike-blog

So the solution is for the cyclist to not be there. No, Duane, it
doesn't mean stay home. It means don't ride up along the curb side of a
big vehicle. Actually, I generally avoid riding into that position for
any vehicle that has any possibility of turning across my path. No
stripe or green paint offers real protection. Instead of riding into
that "coffin corner," I'll usually just take my place in line with the
motor vehicles.

If the line is so long that I know I'll miss the eventual green, I may
carefully ride up along the cars, but stop just behind the first car -
the one that might turn right. That way I'm visible to the driver of
the second car. (But to me, that feels like jumping a line for theater
tickets, so I rarely do it.)

The "coffin corner" idea is not mine. It's explained well in many places.

http://www.crw.org/safety/10safetyPg...ffinCorner.php

http://iamtraffic.org/glossary/coffin-corner/

http://www.kansascyclist.com/news/20...coffin-corner/

--
- Frank Krygowski

Right, no seeum.

Driving the lowly Ford van, the right side will hide a 10x20' area.

Big deal ? well, if you're occupied with ahead and left vision decisions the yes a big deal. Pulling a trailer with

http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/file...CK_TRACTOR.jpg

20'x30' ?

I have TV. Which is the answer. not expensive, 1 $70, 1 $50. One side right with screen under the instrument panel lip and one mounted hi on rear covering rear and rear left.

Motorhome people have TV.

Other some drivers find this annoying as I can see the road and so drive it.

video express:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Ve...2/N/3880127373

BH sells dummy cameras for Xmass gifts

if you have a dummy on the list.

On Saturday, November 29, 2014 8:05:28 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Right, no seeum.

Driving the lowly Ford van, the right side will hide a 10x20' area.

Big deal ? well, if you're occupied with ahead and left vision decisions the yes a big deal. Pulling a trailer with

http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/file...CK_TRACTOR.jpg

20'x30' ?

I have TV. Which is the answer. not expensive, 1 $70, 1 $50. One side right with screen under the instrument panel lip and one mounted hi on rear covering rear and rear left.

Motorhome people have TV.

Other some drivers find this annoying as I can see the road and so drive it.

video express:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Ve...2/N/3880127373

BH sells dummy cameras for Xmass gifts

if you have a dummy on the list.

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnurk

I forgot to write.... duhduhduh

the rule on the right not to position there alongside another vehicle goes for driving an IC as well even a large white van or a Kenworth. Not done. if you go, keep a thumb on the horn pad maybe flick lights at night.

The dead caught under a semi...truck rights as well as law rights.

As I wrote abt the kid under the boo truck like its just not done.

On Saturday, November 29, 2014 7:14:07 PM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/29/2014 12:18 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:00:39 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

The cyclist was apparently hit by a right-turning truck. Right hooks
(or left hooks in drive-on-left countries) are a very serious problem
with large vehicles.

Best advice for a cyclist is, don't be there.

True, if you can. A few years back a cyclist was killed in downtown
Minneapolis. He was in the bike lane stopped at a stoplight and a dump
trailer truck turned right on the red. The trailer swung in, caught him
on some protrusion and dragged him under the trailer wheels. Horrible.
Poor guy was just minding his own business on his way home from work and
the truck driver misjudged the swing on his trailer (which surprises me,
since they know it happens).

That sort of thing is not uncommon. As we've mentioned here before,
it's been recognized as one of the dominant bike fatality mechanisms in
London, as well as other places.

I suppose in some cases the driver might misjudge the swing of the
trailer, but that would be surprising. Big rig drivers deal with that
problem every day. I think it's more likely that the driver simply
didn't see that a cyclist was there. It's been shown to be difficult
for a trucker to see a cyclist that comes up on the blind side, even
when using a collection of mirrors.

http://www.theguardian.com/environme...fety-bike-blog

So the solution is for the cyclist to not be there. No, Duane, it
doesn't mean stay home. It means don't ride up along the curb side of a
big vehicle. Actually, I generally avoid riding into that position for
any vehicle that has any possibility of turning across my path. No
stripe or green paint offers real protection. Instead of riding into
that "coffin corner," I'll usually just take my place in line with the
motor vehicles.

If the line is so long that I know I'll miss the eventual green, I may
carefully ride up along the cars, but stop just behind the first car -
the one that might turn right. That way I'm visible to the driver of
the second car. (But to me, that feels like jumping a line for theater
tickets, so I rarely do it.)

The "coffin corner" idea is not mine. It's explained well in many places.

http://www.crw.org/safety/10safetyPg...ffinCorner.php

http://iamtraffic.org/glossary/coffin-corner/

http://www.kansascyclist.com/news/20...coffin-corner/

--
- Frank Krygowski

DANGER! DANGER!

Sorry Frnk, couldn't resist after you always saying that bicycling isn't dangerous and such.

Cheers

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/sto...imit/19707905/

WORDS OF WISDUM

On 11/30/2014 5:51 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:
Frank Krygowski considered Sat, 29 Nov 2014
19:14:03 -0500 the perfect time to write:

So the solution is for the cyclist to not be there. No, Duane, it
doesn't mean stay home. It means don't ride up along the curb side of a
big vehicle. Actually, I generally avoid riding into that position for
any vehicle that has any possibility of turning across my path. No
stripe or green paint offers real protection. Instead of riding into
that "coffin corner," I'll usually just take my place in line with the
motor vehicles.

The trouble is more often that the cyclist is already there when the
truck comes up alongside, and of course, once the truck driver has
their front bumper (fender) ahead of the cyclist, the cyclist ceases
to exist as far as the driver is concerned.
This is the rationale behind advanced stop lines/boxes - it gives the
cyclists somewhere to wait in front of the traffic, where they are
directly in the drivers' line of sight.
Designed and used sensibly, they work.
But there are more bad designs than good ones, and very little
education on how to use them properly.

It seems to me the education part should start first, since the problem
exists with or without bike boxes. It exists even without bike lanes,
although bike lanes usually exacerbate it, by actively luring cyclists
into that dangerous move or dangerous spot. (Yes, SR, some things one
can do on a bike _are_ dangerous.)

When I was first learning this stuff, I was told that if a cyclist is
matching the speed of motorized traffic, there's no reason to be off to
the side; he should therefore be at lane center. And when all traffic
is stopped for a stop sign or traffic light, the cyclists are matching
the speed of motorized traffic; so they should be at lane center.
That's almost always where I am in that situation.

Yes, filtering forward is sometimes valuable. But cyclists need to
learn that it's a non-standard and potentially hazardous tactic. They
need to know exactly why, and they need to balance the benefits against
the potential detriments.

If the line is so long that I know I'll miss the eventual green, I may
carefully ride up along the cars, but stop just behind the first car -
the one that might turn right. That way I'm visible to the driver of
the second car. (But to me, that feels like jumping a line for theater
tickets, so I rarely do it.)

It's at least as reasonable as motorists jumping the queue to pass a
cyclist on faster roads.
Probably more so, since the cyclists aren't the ones responsible for
the congestion.

There's some logic in that attitude. But again, I try to balance
potential benefits vs. detriments. Usually, filtering forward would
save me only a very few seconds of travel time, since I'll make it
through the green light anyway; so I don't bother. As with the
motorists who impatiently pass a cyclist, I don't plan on getting rich
or saving the world with those few seconds.

I have done some fairly serious filtering in big cities, but it's been
because of long lines or traffic jams that would have delayed me several
minutes. But I suppose even that delay would have been negligible in
the context of a lifetime.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Sunday, November 30, 2014 7:38:33 PM UTC-5, wrote:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/sto...imit/19707905/

WORDS OF WISDUM

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departm...30_MT_2012.htm

On Monday, December 1, 2014 7:11:51 PM UTC-5, Phil W Lee wrote:
Frank Krygowski considered Sun, 30 Nov 2014
20:15:15 -0500 the perfect time to write:

On 11/30/2014 5:51 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:
Frank Krygowski considered Sat, 29 Nov 2014
19:14:03 -0500 the perfect time to write:

So the solution is for the cyclist to not be there. No, Duane, it
doesn't mean stay home. It means don't ride up along the curb side of a
big vehicle. Actually, I generally avoid riding into that position for
any vehicle that has any possibility of turning across my path. No
stripe or green paint offers real protection. Instead of riding into
that "coffin corner," I'll usually just take my place in line with the
motor vehicles.

The trouble is more often that the cyclist is already there when the
truck comes up alongside, and of course, once the truck driver has
their front bumper (fender) ahead of the cyclist, the cyclist ceases
to exist as far as the driver is concerned.
This is the rationale behind advanced stop lines/boxes - it gives the
cyclists somewhere to wait in front of the traffic, where they are
directly in the drivers' line of sight.
Designed and used sensibly, they work.
But there are more bad designs than good ones, and very little
education on how to use them properly.

It seems to me the education part should start first, since the problem
exists with or without bike boxes. It exists even without bike lanes,
although bike lanes usually exacerbate it, by actively luring cyclists
into that dangerous move or dangerous spot. (Yes, SR, some things one
can do on a bike _are_ dangerous.)

When I was first learning this stuff, I was told that if a cyclist is
matching the speed of motorized traffic, there's no reason to be off to
the side; he should therefore be at lane center. And when all traffic
is stopped for a stop sign or traffic light, the cyclists are matching
the speed of motorized traffic; so they should be at lane center.
That's almost always where I am in that situation.

Yes, filtering forward is sometimes valuable. But cyclists need to
learn that it's a non-standard and potentially hazardous tactic. They
need to know exactly why, and they need to balance the benefits against
the potential detriments.

If the line is so long that I know I'll miss the eventual green, I may
carefully ride up along the cars, but stop just behind the first car -
the one that might turn right. That way I'm visible to the driver of
the second car. (But to me, that feels like jumping a line for theater
tickets, so I rarely do it.)

It's at least as reasonable as motorists jumping the queue to pass a
cyclist on faster roads.
Probably more so, since the cyclists aren't the ones responsible for
the congestion.

There's some logic in that attitude. But again, I try to balance
potential benefits vs. detriments. Usually, filtering forward would
save me only a very few seconds of travel time, since I'll make it
through the green light anyway; so I don't bother. As with the
motorists who impatiently pass a cyclist, I don't plan on getting rich
or saving the world with those few seconds.

I have done some fairly serious filtering in big cities, but it's been
because of long lines or traffic jams that would have delayed me several
minutes. But I suppose even that delay would have been negligible in
the context of a lifetime.

That rather shows the difference in local traffic conditions.
Here, we don't regard a line of traffic at a red light as a real queue
unless it extends beyond a single cycle of the traffic lights.
If you get through on the first green, it's just "getting caught at
the lights".
Queueing is a normal part of commuting by car into most larger towns
or cities in the UK. Short queues are only a few hundred yards, but
some go on for miles on end, particularly into the larger cities like
London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, or Manchester.
And they are normal, everyday traffic. Chuck a lane closure or two in,
or a traffic collision, and it can get quite badly congested, delaying
traffic for anything up to a couple of extra hours.
This is one of the biggest reasons for cycle commuting here - it's
faster than driving, for (each way) distances up to between 10 and 40
miles, depending on the size of the city you are commuting to.
So giving up filtering means giving up one of the main advantages you
have over the cars.
Cycle commuting times, even when they are a little longer than those
by car, are far more predictable.
But for many cycle commuters in the UK, filtering saves them 30
minutes per day, every day, and more if something has messed up the
traffic.
That is very significant, even in the context of a lifetime.
It's the equivalent of having your work paid vacation allowance
doubled.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDLC

https://www.google.com/#q=breathing+...le+commuti ng

TRY WEARING THE SAME MASK...WITH BREATHING FLAP...FOR TEN COMMUTES SEE WHAT THE MASK FILTERED