Cycling UK Forum

Seems to slipped under the radar but Cynthia Barlow is on the honours list for an OBE.
Her work has saved cyclists lives and GBE would have been more deserved IMO but there you go...

Never heard of her.
Who is she?

Google it to find out how this lady devoted much time to improving HGV driver training following the death of her cyclist daughter in 2000.

I have certainly benefited in a small way from her efforts, having had a series of run-ins with a Cemex driver. I may even have had my life saved by her efforts (not particularly with that driver) but no way of ever knowing about that.
It makes sense to think her efforts have saved some REAL lives somewhere. Also it is something that would not have happened without her personal involvement, unlike say the emergency services or surgeons where somebody else would be in their job, if they personally were not.

bikes4two wrote:Google it ............

I have done of course, I was making the point that the OP didn't say anything.

Cynthia is on Woman's Hour now,or on iPlayer later. Too short!

Just read an interview on the Financial Times website. Clever lady! Her daughter was killed by a left turning lorry. Rather than using the press or pressure groups, she bought enough shares in the company that owned the vehicle that killed her daughter to be able to ask a question at the AGM. She read a prepared statement and asked what the company was doing to stop it happening again. There was silence in the room, the the company chairman instructed the H&S director to contact her and discuss the situation.

The company is was Readymix (now has a different name due to change of ownership). As a result of that question ALL their lorries now have additional mirrors, additional indicators on the sides towards the front of the vehicle so that anyone already alongside can see that they intend to turn and proximity sensors to the sides that sound alarms in the cabs if anyone is there. They have had no similar accidents since.

It is obviously possible, so why not mandatory?

She's a heroine for cyclists,it's untold how many lives her actions have saved.

It is obviously possible, so why not mandatory?

Why indeed!
Given the obvious benefit to cyclists that the measures Cemex/Readymix made to their vehicles,it seems it's a no brainer to make those changes mandatory,which in turn shows how bad the politrickians and (so called) democracy is in the UK toward vulnerable road users.

The UK is a bad country in which to live if you're a cyclist.