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While the EU Directive does not seem to threaten hauliers
Page 47
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with widespread legal action, the campaign to reduce the death and Injury toll among cyclists goes on.
Lobby group Transport for London is planning to launch a new awareness campaign pitched at cyclists and truck drivers to curb accident rates at road junctions.
The aim is to reduce the risks where cyclists pull up on the inside of a lorry that's turning left at a junction. Road safety experts have identified this as one of the most dangerous situations—and one that accounts for a significant number of accidents in built-up areas.
Problems can occur when a truck driver who has stopped at a junction checks his left-hand mirror, thinks it's clear but fails to spot a cyclist who has pulled up in his blind spot. As the vehicle turns, it cuts across the cyclist's path and can drag them under the rear wheels of the truck.
In the Netherlands it will be law from next year that trucks must be fitted with extra mirrors to eliminate these blind spots. But some operators are not waiting—PIT Netherlands, for example, has already fitted its 115-truck fleet with blindspot mirrors, according to company spokesman, Leon Romeyn.
A safety group called The London Accident Prevention Council is running a campaign to curb these accidents. Dubbed 'Don't be a space invader', it produces stickers and posters to highlight the dangers to both cyclists and drivers.
Graham Gobbing of Transport for London stresses that both cyclists and drivers need to be more aware of the risks: "Along the left side of a truck at a junction is the wrong place for a cyclist to be because this is the primary cause of fatalities. Often it's down to drivers' lack of attention to their left-hand mirrors but with the best will in the world, cyclists can suddenly appear. There's a job of education to be done for both sides."
011ie Kite, managing director of London-based Edwin Shirley Trucking, says that while drivers are aware of the dangers to cyclists, accidents are few and far between.
The firm, which specialises in moving sound and stage equipment for rock bands. plies much of its trade in and around the capital.
And Kite believes the fact that many of the firm's trucks are lefthookers contributes to their excellent safety safety record with cyclists. "It means drivers are in a better position to see them," he points out. "Plus, we've got mirrors at the front that look down to each corner so you can see what's going on in front and below."