Inside Out BBC1 (London) 7.30pm to feature HGV/cyclist thing
3.10.07 by Buffalo Bill
Trailed on BBC TV (london), tonight’s (3rd October 2007) will apparently feature the problem of HGV killing cyclists in London and what to do about it.
There’s a post on Single Track World about the programme, and a quote from Charlie Lloyd, who is the London Cycling Campaign’s expert in this area. He says, on the topic of the so-called ‘blind-spot’ mirror, that we want every lorry driver on the road to able to see pedestrians and cyclists.
Fair point, and I am sure that Charlie said a lot more than that, but focussing on the ‘blind-spot’ is a mistake. Even when the lorry driver has a mirror in the right place to see a particular area surrounding his vehicle, having the mirror is only going to prevent a collision if the driver uses it.
So it’s not just a question of seeing, it’s a question of looking as well.
< London Bicycle Film Festival 2007 tickets now on sale · Emily Thornberry demands 'blind-spot' mirrors for HGV/lorries >
Ok, who’s gonna capture this and post it on Google Video or something for all of us Brits in Exile?
— tallsam Oct 3, 11:29 AM #
my 2 cents worth of links for today
www.londoncyclesport…
— the real slim shakey Oct 3, 11:42 AM #
www.bbc.co.uk/inside…
— _targetbot Oct 3, 08:24 PM #
Hi Bill, you are right I did say more. The most important action to reduce the menace of lorries is for drivers to be made responsible for their actions and to be prosecuted. It is obscene that the lorry driver who killed Emma Foa was only fined £300 and got 5 points on his licence. He had been reading papers instead of keeping a good lookout before turning left and killing Emma.
Getting better mirrors is only part of the solution, they will make pedestrians and cyclists more visible AND they will prevent sharp barristers from blaming the ‘blind spot’ and not the driver.
Our story and petition is at:
www.lcc.org.uk/index…
— Charlie Oct 4, 01:53 PM #
can relate to that one…on my bmx got crushed under a bus that decided to turn left having overtaken me! broke my back in four places and still standing, just.
— nick Oct 4, 04:20 PM #