Truckersworld e-petition.

[bigjim]

This wording has appeared on Truckersworld website

We constantly read about cyclist and how us truckers and also bus drivers
constantly get blamed when accidents happen involving them, and as many of
us know on many an occasion it is the fault of the cyclist being unaware of
the danger he puts himself into that can cause the accident..

It is definitely time that cyclist are educated into the dangers before
being allowed onto main roads and in an attempt to bring about talks into
this issue we have set up a e-petition

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31174
Please sign it if you consider cyclist must be made more responsible and
some education would help in this matter, not all cyclist are bad but every
time an accident does happen then it gives certain people ammunition to
blame us. The e-petition might help in bringing the matter into talks.

[Ricardo]

...and just when I thought it was only the trucks that were large lumbering objects with lots of inertia.

[cycle cat]

I've just read their website.
They think it's just A and B roads that are dangerous do they?
See my thread on here entitled " What a silly pair!"That happened on a
country lane.

Truckers and cyclists need mutual respect on all roads.
I have a full car and motorcycle license. I've been trained NOT to ride down
the side of trucks.

[Ayesha]

Newton's third law.

It is to be expected.

[Ayesha]

I've just read their website.
They think it's just A and B roads that are dangerous do they?
See my thread on here entitled " What a silly pair!"That happened on a
country lane.

Truckers and cyclists need mutual respect on all roads.
I have a full car and motorcycle license. I've been trained NOT to ride down
the side of trucks.

In your thread "What a silly pair", both trucks had come to a halt.
If there had been a collision, it wouldn't have been either of the trucks that caused it.

A stationary object cannot hit a moving object.

In the famous case where the cyclist was crushed into the barriers by the truck, The truck had stopped. The cyclist rode up the 'Corridor of doom', stopped and then when the truck started moving, its trailer took the same roadspace as the cyclist. In this case, the cyclist put themselves in a compromising position by not anticipating the trucks path when it was due to drive away.
The truck had no convex mirrors, so failed to see the cyclist. Even so, the cyclist would have been wiser to stay behind the truck and only proceeded when the truck was clear of the junction.

Convex mirrors or not, the best survival plan it not to enter the 'corridor of doom'....

[snibgo]

Yeah, but this petition isn't about not filtering past lorries. It's about compulsory training, testing and licensing for cycling on "A" or "B" roads. Sounds like a recipe for killing cycling, which I suspect is their intention.

They've got 33 signatures in 6 days, so nothing to worry about.

[Ayesha]

There was a thread not so long ago about points on your driving licence for cycling offences.

There are many cyclists out there who ride a bike because they have never learned to drive a car. They do not possess a driving licence to get points on it.
IMHO, these are the one's who should make an effort to prove they have road sense and Highway Code knowledge before they ride their bikes on the same roads as 30 toners.

My DL permits me to ride a motorised Bicycle ( Moped ) up to 50cc and restricted to 30mph without the need for an additional test.
If I didn't have a DL, and seeings I can ride my pedal cycle down some hills at over 30 mph, some kind of competence should be demonstrated to DVLA that I can ride a non motorised bicycle at 30 mph.... SAFELY.

And understand what roadsigns mean, understand what Policeman's hand signals mean; and understand how to negotiate junctions...

[snibgo]

I'm fully in favour of cycle training. It's a very good thing. I'd like it to be available, to Bikeability 3, free for anyone who wants it, and a standard part of education at age around 10 years old. And a reasonable argument can be made for making it a compulsory part (with some exceptions) of the driving test.

But compulsory training for cyclists, which means it would be an offence to ride a bike without training, test and licence, would be regressive, a strong discouragement to taking up cycling.

Restricting the offence to "A" and "B" roads may sound reasonable, sort of half-way, so cyclists can learn on minor roads before graduating. But it's really a way to discourage cycling on any but the most minor roads. Hardly surprising from a bunch of truckers.

[Ron]

A cyclist who uses A or B roads should like all other road users be licensed to do so and pass a test to be qualified (a Certificate) as proof.

The mover of the petition apparently does not consider pedestrians to be road users.

[gilesjuk]

Horses, will they have to be trained too?

[broadway]

Horses, will they have to be trained too?

And don't forget the sheep

[GeoffL]

Horses, will they have to be trained too?

And don't forget the sheep

... and pedestrians also, for that. How soon will it be that you'll need a licence to leave your house, or even for children to go to school unless they're being chauffeured by someone who's passed an appropriate test?

However, while I'm very much against the letter of the truckers' petition, I am in favour of the spirit. Road safety training should be compulsory for all before they use the roads. Parents should train their pre-school children, which most already do. Schools should be obliged to provide road-awareness training for pedestrian pupils, and be obliged to extend that to including cycling proficiency where a child wants to cycle. There should be training available for older cyclists, subsidised from motoring taxes (after all, it's the motorists who're demanding cyclists be trained and the training is required to protect cyclists from motorists) if appropriate.

That said, it's not just cyclists who do silly things around lorries and buses. I've lost count of the times I've seen a car pull up at lights on the left side of an artic that's in the right-hand lane and indicating to turn left, enter a roundabout on the right of an artic, etc. Those car drivers have proved their competence to use the roads and yet they're making the same mistakes as some untrained cyclists. So perhaps basic training isn't the answer and perhaps a public awareness campaign demonstrating the dangers would be more productive?

[Mike Sales]

This links to a report of a recent study carried out by the police for the DfT into accidents between cyclists and motorists.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... ents-study

"With adult cyclists, police found the driver solely responsible in about 60%-75% of all cases, and riders solely at fault 17%-25% of the time."

"In 2% of cases where cyclists were seriously injured in collisions with other road users police said that the rider disobeying a stop sign or traffic light was a likely contributing factor. Wearing dark clothing at night was seen as a potential cause in about 2.5% of cases, and failure to use lights was mentioned 2% of the time."

In spite of our lack of training cyclists seem to do better than drivers. The biggest potential for improvement in bicycle accidents lies in improving driving. If drivers were as good at avoiding bikes as cyclists in avoiding cars, then cyclist casualties could be better than halved.

An impartial observer would not suggest tests for cyclists as the first or main measure likely to save cyclists' lives.

[flat tyre]

This wording has appeared on Truckersworld website

We constantly read about cyclist and how us truckers and also bus drivers
constantly get blamed when accidents happen involving them, and as many of
us know on many an occasion it is the fault of the cyclist being unaware of
the danger he puts himself into that can cause the accident..

It is definitely time that cyclist are educated into the dangers before
being allowed onto main roads and in an attempt to bring about talks into
this issue we have set up a e-petition

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31174
Please sign it if you consider cyclist must be made more responsible and
some education would help in this matter, not all cyclist are bad but every
time an accident does happen then it gives certain people ammunition to
blame us. The e-petition might help in bringing the matter into talks.

Oh dear. Obviously literacy is not a requirement for truck drivers!

[Ian Raleigh]

ATTENTION

Anyone who uses Facebook and would like to tell this Barrie Tozer a few home truths, feel free to do so

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1466687119