As regular readers of Moving Target will know, London cyclists continue to be killed by collisions with lorries/HGVs/LGVs. Although no London bicycle courier has been killed since February 2004, all 8 died as the result of collisions with lorries. I have probably written more words about lorry / cyclist deaths than on any other subject in the last 20 years.

Consequently, I have had quite a lot of contact with the Met Police’s Collision Investigators. These are the guys who have the grisly task of examining the scene of a fatal (or near fatal) collision and trying to work out what happened and why. As I mentioned in a previous post, in the case of fatal collisions involving a cyclist and a lorry, their work is hampered by lack of witnesses. One said to me that you can always find people who saw what happened after the collision, but rarely anyone who saw what happened before. And, of course, the lorry driver will rarely be able to give good information because s/he will not have seen the cyclist, and the most useful witness, the cyclist, is dead.

As part of an effort to figure out what leads to these tragic incidents, which I believe to be wholly avoidable, a senior Collision Investigator has devised a survey for cyclists. I have published the accompanying email below. I urge all my London-based readers to complete the survey, and pass on the details to as many other cyclists as possible.

Dear Sir, Madam, Colleague,

Some of you will be aware that I am conducting research into cycling fatalities, if you are not aware then your e-mail address has been supplied to me as someone who may have an interest in the subject area.

In short, I am about to publish a web based questionnaire designed to explore risk taking behaviour in cyclists. The survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous.

I am looking to explore specific data with regards to cyclists and Large Goods Vehicles, although the data I obtain will provide broader information as well. I am hoping that this research will obtain good quality data that can be used to inform road safety projects, aid training for all road users and, ultimately, reduce fatal and serious collisions, especially within the cycling community.

Some of you have assisted me in the preparation of the survey and some of you have taken a pilot study, those that have not are most welcome to complete the questionnaire themselves, but the main reason for sending this circulation is to ask you all to publicise the web link as far and wide as possible. Some of you have already agreed to host the link on a web page relevant to your organisation and I would ask that, if any of you have such a facility, that you do so as well. My target audience is, obviously, cyclists, but I do not want to be too specific about the groups of people I am interested in because people may self-exclude themselves, and I do not want that to happen, as all data will be useful.

You will all be aware that any research is only as good as the information that comes in, so the wider the response the more useful the information will be. I am sending this message out now so that those of you that need to prepare a web slot can do so and to ask those, for whom this is first contact, to consider what they may be able to do to assist.

I am hoping to send the link out very shortly and I will run the survey for a three week period when it goes live.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Andy Rose
Detective Inspector

Head of Collision Investigation Unit

This is the link to the survey, called ‘Risk Taking and Cycling’.

+fucking lots.

Exactly. That "on either side" completely fails to capture the difference between safe(r) filtering and potential death. If youre coming down the inside of an HGV, and the lights change, youre in serious trouble. Especially if youre in one of the many blind spots. However much we'd like it to be otherwise, drivers dont signal enough in this city, and drivers waiting until they start moving to signal their left turn are incredibly common. By which time its too late,and youre already at risk. The only safe way to approach the front (even an ACL) is down the outside. Whoever wrote this survey is your basic idiot for missing that distinction, and the people who "assisted" and didnt mention it are just as retarded. I tried to write that into the survey, but Im not sure it'll make a difference.

Just dont undertake. Its dangerous, usually illegal and always stupid. I regularly see people cut up the inside of buses. At bus stops. Duh. On the way home today up Bishopsgate I saw a black cab signal and pull in, only for a HiViz wearing retard to try and undertake and run straight into the door/passenger stepping out onto the pavement.

Seriously. How many people are killed by overtaking/being on the outside of right turning HGVs? Compare to the percentage of people killed in this city by being inside left turning vehicles, and tell me that distinction isnt vitally important, in the most literal sense of the word.

This reminds me of an incident which occured this afternoon.

I was making my way down the Victoria Embankment at a good pace when I spotted a motorcycle cop who was clearly finishing up some business with a disobedient moped driver. Aware that he was mounting his bike, I came to an abrupt stop at the lights (this was in the region of Temple Place), positioning myself with enough distance ahead of the mass of traffic - all of which was champing at the proverbial bit - to get a good head start, but close enough to the line that only a complete cunt would call me out on it.

Light went green, all vroom, and, despite holding my line with rigid precision, leaving more than enough room in the lanes either side of me (it's OK, I'm slimming), an Addy Lee van fuck, clearly in the grip of a heady mix of oblivion and retardedness, came barrelling my way and nearly knocked my side. I carried on unperturbed, but within seconds the motorcycle cop pulled up to me and started buzzing in my ear. He asked me where I was going. Perhaps there's some traffic situation ahead which I'm about to become privy to, I thought. But instead, he decreed that I be more vigilant, lest I not be spotted by my fellow road users, and that I hold the nearside where possible. This smack in the face was promptly followed by a friendly wink and a thumbs-up.

And then he drove off. And I was sad about this, because I had alot of questions. First of all, perhaps I could be making more effort to be visible? Perhaps some Hi Viz, or maybe even a short flag protruding from the rearside of my frame? And exactly how far into the nearside should I try and position myself, considering that I'm moving much faster than the rest of the traffic? There's a lorry hugging the curb ahead, would that be a good place to stick to the nearside? Or perhaps between the line of parked coaches and traffic?

Anyway, yeah, what a prick.