Ludgate Circus cyclist tipper lorry
Discussion
sparkyhx said:
but what if a cyclist comes up the inside of you when you turn left - is that the drivers fault or the cyclists fault?
Regardless of whose fault it is, it doesn't take much effort to look in your left mirror if you are turning left. I do it every time, and if there is someone there (regardless of "fault"), I won't be killing them. This is why driving around cyclists is not a "nightmare" (your turn of phrase), it's actually really, really easy to do safely.If you struggle with that concept, hand in your licence, you're not fit to operate a motor vehicle.
Mr Gear said:
sparkyhx said:
but what if a cyclist comes up the inside of you when you turn left - is that the drivers fault or the cyclists fault?
Regardless of whose fault it is, it doesn't take much effort to look in your left mirror if you are turning left. I do it every time, and if there is someone there (regardless of "fault"), I won't be killing them. This is why driving around cyclists is not a "nightmare" (your turn of phrase), it's actually really, really easy to do safely.If you struggle with that concept, hand in your licence, you're not fit to operate a motor vehicle.
It can't be so easy in a truck, sure, but the technology is there to put cameras/sensors places where mirrors cannot get to. Why are they not used more?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zWcj4QdkGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zWcj4QdkGo
I have cameras, sensors and a voice which now shouts "WARNING, THIS VEHICLE IS TURNING LEFT".It's actually quite annoying when sat at those types of lights which take 2 or 3 minutes to change, although it is better than the previous proximity sensors which picked up ANYTHING a few inches away from the truck.In London, almost everything is only a few inches away from the truck an awful lot of the time, so the sensors beeped ALL day long due to picking up anything from buildings to road cones.
On the first day the new system was fitted, in my downward firing side mirror, I spotted a cyclist stop, sit beside the speaker and stare at it for a while as it played the message. *sigh*
Sadly, no amount of mirrors, cameras or warnings will stop those on a mission.They can appear from anywhere and at incredible speeds.I rarely see them and rarely know they are coming.Those I do see can often mean I have missed others of this type as a result.It can feel like the equivalent of someone standing behind you, throwing a handful of rice over your head and asking you to check on each grain as it approaches and passes over the top of your head and beside both ears.
On the first day the new system was fitted, in my downward firing side mirror, I spotted a cyclist stop, sit beside the speaker and stare at it for a while as it played the message. *sigh*
Sadly, no amount of mirrors, cameras or warnings will stop those on a mission.They can appear from anywhere and at incredible speeds.I rarely see them and rarely know they are coming.Those I do see can often mean I have missed others of this type as a result.It can feel like the equivalent of someone standing behind you, throwing a handful of rice over your head and asking you to check on each grain as it approaches and passes over the top of your head and beside both ears.
Diderot said:
Interesting graph but worth pointing out that the data are up to 9 years old, well before the onslaught of Wiggins-Tour-de-France-wannabees when numbers of cyclists blighting the roads seemed to quadruple overnight. 
Also before the rise of the smart phone, when the number of motorists who feel it more important to tweet or update their facebook status than to look where they're going blossomed...Mave said:
Ah, the irony. In studies into motorist / cyclist attitudes, a common conclusion is that cyclists are regarded as a minority "out" group compared with the dominant motorist "in" group. As a result, any minor transgressions by cyclists are vilified and assumed to be the behaviour of every cyclist, whilst transgressions by motorists are ignored. And due to confirmation bias, any evidence to support that viewpoint is assimilated and used to reinforce the opinion, whilst any evidence that rejects it is questioned, critiqued, scorned and ignored.
Does shoutily propounding the "cyclist viewpoint" on a car enthusiast website help or hinder this confirmation bias?Mave said:
Diderot said:
Interesting graph but worth pointing out that the data are up to 9 years old, well before the onslaught of Wiggins-Tour-de-France-wannabees when numbers of cyclists blighting the roads seemed to quadruple overnight.
Also before the rise of the smart phone, when the number of motorists who feel it more important to tweet or update their facebook status than to look where they're going blossomed...Mr Gear said:
sparkyhx said:
but what if a cyclist comes up the inside of you when you turn left - is that the drivers fault or the cyclists fault?
Regardless of whose fault it is, it doesn't take much effort to look in your left mirror if you are turning left. I do it every time, and if there is someone there (regardless of "fault"), I won't be killing them. This is why driving around cyclists is not a "nightmare" (your turn of phrase), it's actually really, really easy to do safely.If you struggle with that concept, hand in your licence, you're not fit to operate a motor vehicle.
Digby said:
I have cameras, sensors and a voice which now shouts "WARNING, THIS VEHICLE IS TURNING LEFT".It's actually quite annoying when sat at those types of lights which take 2 or 3 minutes to change, although it is better than the previous proximity sensors which picked up ANYTHING a few inches away from the truck.In London, almost everything is only a few inches away from the truck an awful lot of the time, so the sensors beeped ALL day long due to picking up anything from buildings to road cones.
On the first day the new system was fitted, in my downward firing side mirror, I spotted a cyclist stop, sit beside the speaker and stare at it for a while as it played the message. *sigh*
Sadly, no amount of mirrors, cameras or warnings will stop those on a mission.They can appear from anywhere and at incredible speeds.I rarely see them and rarely know they are coming.Those I do see can often mean I have missed others of this type as a result.It can feel like the equivalent of someone standing behind you, throwing a handful of rice over your head and asking you to check on each grain as it approaches and passes over the top of your head and beside both ears.
Well said Digby.On the first day the new system was fitted, in my downward firing side mirror, I spotted a cyclist stop, sit beside the speaker and stare at it for a while as it played the message. *sigh*
Sadly, no amount of mirrors, cameras or warnings will stop those on a mission.They can appear from anywhere and at incredible speeds.I rarely see them and rarely know they are coming.Those I do see can often mean I have missed others of this type as a result.It can feel like the equivalent of someone standing behind you, throwing a handful of rice over your head and asking you to check on each grain as it approaches and passes over the top of your head and beside both ears.
Mave said:
Diderot said:
Interesting graph but worth pointing out that the data are up to 9 years old, well before the onslaught of Wiggins-Tour-de-France-wannabees when numbers of cyclists blighting the roads seemed to quadruple overnight.
Also before the rise of the smart phone, when the number of motorists who feel it more important to tweet or update their facebook status than to look where they're going blossomed...Mave said:
Also before the rise of the smart phone, when the number of motorists who feel it more important to tweet or update their facebook status than to look where they're going blossomed...
What is becoming really commonplace here in Brum is for cars to ignore stop lights (both red and amber) but to ignore green lights too, and remain stationary when the lights change 'cos they're all on their smart phones.You now have to have a working horn here in Brum (something I've hitherto not considered important) otherwise you ain't going anywhere.
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