London Banter - View Single Post - Anti-bike signs on Bendibuses

Richard J. · March 25th 06, 09:36 AM posted to uk.transport.london

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

I assume you mean that once the driver starts a turn, he can't
see all of the vehicle in his mirrors. In what way is a bendy
bus different from an articulated lorry in that regard, or would
you ban all of them too?

Like railway practices and designs found to be dangerous I would
require changes to overcome the safety defects. Most railway lines
had to be fitted with TPWS to prevent SPADs and bufferstop
collisions and all the Mark I rolling stock had to be withdrawn
from service within quite a short time because it wasn't
crashworthy enough, for example.

I wasn't aware that articulated lorries had been "found to be
dangerous". Do you have any accident statistics to support this?

Two Cambridge accidents in the last few months in which cyclists
were killed by drivers who claim not to have seen them on their
nearsides. The lorries were turning left, one on a roundabout at
Addenbrooke's Hospital, the other at a T junction off a main road
with a cycle lane on the nearside.

There is no question in my mind that both drivers should have seen
the cyclists and if they couldn't then their vehicles were
defective and should not be allowed on the roads nor should similar
vehicles unless modified.

.... or the drivers didn't have the nearside mirror properly adjusted.
The mirror check should be done *before* starting to turn; the
articulation of the lorry (or bendy bus) is not relevant.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)