SB1500 said:

I'm deciding between cycling everywhere in the future or keeping a car as well as going to a gym to keep in shape.. the latter more common but there's something off putting about getting in my tin air conditioned box and going to a public concrete air conditioned box to work up a sweat. A lack of nature but a sense of lower risk of getting hit by a car somehow.. hmm

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It depends where you live but there is a third way, cancel the gym, buy some running shoes. I've got a range of routes worked out over the last few years between 3 and 6 miles. Usually spend about an hour 5 times a week doing it. Running has much greater health benefits than cycling as long as you get good shoes and don't knacker your knees.

But it depends if where you live is somewhere you're happy to run. I'm lucky in that I'm a mile from a foresty commission forest so I just run down the road to it then pick a route depending on how I'm feeling about hills/distance that day. Tbf I know the place backwards given I used to downhill mtb through it. It's a lot more relaxing than sweating with 30 others in a clammy room.

This one seems to be going viral...

And there's a huge number out there blaming the HGV.
Whilst searching for the clip, I found

"kierhardy, london, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
No he shouldn't have turned left, the left arrow is for vehicles not cyclists otherwise cyclists would have to ride in the middle of the road while told to stay on the left where the cycle lanes are."
(obviously never read the highway code?)
In the comments section of the Daily Mail webpage.

Some YT copies of this clip even claim that the HGV changes lanes.

sludgeguts said:

(obviously never read the highway code?)

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Or it seems the warning on the back of almost every lorry now (especially those in London) warning cyclists not to pass on the left.

That idiot cyclist was lucky he wasn't killed, there have been a large number of London cyclists kill or seriously injured doing exactly this, and having it all on camera and making a complaint, isn't going to be any consolation to his family when he does get run down, clearly having not learned from his mistake [emoji15]

Seriously, what a moron, gotta feel sorry for the HGV driver in this instance, ganged up on by a group of militant cyclists who could not see the error of their ways, when the message from the driver was very much 'I could have bloody killed you'

Doesn't matter how right you think you are, you still don't stick your head in a lions mouth then blame the lion when it bites.

I know the lorry wasn't turning in this instance but all cyclists need to watch this.

[ame]https://youtu.be/lV-rhiGRFTE[/ame]

AndyRKett said:

Or it seems the warning on the back of almost every lorry now (especially those in London) warning cyclists not to pass on the left.

That idiot cyclist was lucky he wasn't killed, there have been a large number of London cyclists kill or seriously injured doing exactly this, and having it all on camera and making a complaint, isn't going to be any consolation to his family when he does get run down, clearly having not learned from his mistake [emoji15]

Seriously, what a moron, gotta feel sorry for the HGV driver in this instance, ganged up on by a group of militant cyclists who could not see the error of their ways, when the message from the driver was very much 'I could have bloody killed you'

Doesn't matter how right you think you are, you still don't stick your head in a lions mouth then blame the lion when it bites.

I know the lorry wasn't turning in this instance but all cyclists need to watch this.

https://youtu.be/lV-rhiGRFTE

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Wow that's amazing short video,
All road users should see it.
Thank you Andy.

The cyclist who got hit by the truck was lucky. All the cyclists were in a lane specifically for a left turn, but they all went straight on.
A lot of cyclists seem to think they take up no space, but when other vehicles give them no space, they get upset. Can't have it both ways.

The vid from VOSA, with the turning lorry and hidden cyclists is brilliant. All road users can apply a simple rule, "If you cannot see the driver's face, either directly or in his mirror, assume he cannot see any part of you or your vehicle."

jackwhoo said:

Wow that's amazing short video,
All road users should see it.
Thank you Andy.

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Me and a group of friends were on the receiving end of that blind spot convoying down to Donny show. A left hand drive lorry was in a straight on lane at a rounderbout we were travelling in a convoy of 3 to his right in the right turn lane. So in this blind spot but on the reverse side. He suddenly decided actually he wasn't going straight on and moved right. My mate at the front saw him coming and sped up to clear the front of the cab. At the rear I did the reverse and achored up so I was no longer sharing space with his rear axles. Lad in the middle though froze and got side swiped by the driving wheels of the tractor unit. No one was hurt though.

I'm still twitchy about sitting alongside lorries now in a car (this was 2006), how people can even contemplate putting themselves into the position shown in the 1st video I have no idea.

All I can think of is they have a total lack of imagination...

I completely sympathise with the HGV driver on that one. He's the one who will get done for manslaughter .. Yet it was that cyclists actions that put him in that situation.

I think to cycle on the road a small training programme, maybe even a one day course explaining that stuff should be completed.

Though, I also think drivers should have a small part of their test - theory maybe - explaining that cyclists actually are legally allowed on the road etc as in my short experience some people - myself initially - used to think they weren't supposed to be there and as such acted disrespectfully. I just happened to take a liking to it as a hobby and came across the actual rules etc.

We'll never reach harmony! lol

For me, Ulpian summed it up.

It's the me, me, me attitude that is so prevelant now.

Then cyclists just don't want to understand the dangers of cycling down the NS of a truck or bus. They HAVE to be in front instead of waiting behind the truck or bus.

As a cyclist myself as well as a motorist, I respect other road users as I am the most venerable.
In turn as a motorist, I am respectiful to cyclist. But just like some other drivers, some do not help themselves by riding two, three or more abreast on narrow roads; ignoring road signals and signs etc etc.

Just learn to obey the rules and hey, we can all get along, safely.

If a cyclist moves alongside a truck and gets squashed, everyone will blame the truck.
If someone on a moped does the same, we blame the moped rider.
Why does having an engine make a difference?

portland_bill said:

If a cyclist moves alongside a truck and gets squashed, everyone will blame the truck.
If someone on a moped does the same, we blame the moped rider.
Why does having an engine make a difference?

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Simply because the cyclist is deemed more vulnerable. Don't shoot the messenger. Take Holland for instance, they have a strict liability law in place for cyclists & pedestrians, so if someone driving a vehicle of some sort knocks someone down, or worse still kills someone, you're in big trouble. You have to prove without a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't your fault. Because of this law motorists do indeed drive very carefully when encountering cyclists.

Obviously there are cyclist out there that are just plain selfish/stupid, but there are far more drivers who are worse for the simple reason they can do a lot more damage with a vehicle. I worked in Holland some years back & I cycled a lot. I experienced a total respect for the cyclist because of the law. As I've said before postcode lottery plays a big part on how safe the cyclist is, up here is deemed not bad, but it can be a bit risky at times on the country roads when motorists zoom past at speed & it feels like they're only giving you inches to spare.

I'm in my sixties & I've seen a big change over the years regarding peoples outlook in life, & this includes absolute everybody, we have become more selfish in our wee bubble & if anybody dares to upset us in anyway, well we tend to kick back hard. Slightly different but road rage has in some cases landed up in murder.

Cyclists/motorists/pedestrians, as I've said before are good bad & indifferent, we all have a story to tell. Like it or lump it, the person with a machine is the biggest killer. Just my observations