Whose fault is it anyway?
Page 10
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About a year ago I was on the A235 making my way from Croydon towards the M25. I was driving an 18-tonne rigid and stopped at some traffic lights there were three lanes of traffic with me in the middle, a lane to the left of me, and a filter off to a side street.
The lights went green, I released the handbrake and lowered my foot to the throttle, but then instinctively stamped on the brake. A bicycle appeared right in front of me, crossed the cab from right to left, crossed also the left lane causing another car to pull sharp as well, on to the pavement and then disappeared up the side street. And that was that. Strangely, nobody hooted at her. I was too shocked to do anything and needed to get my breath back, and maybe the car beside me was a Londoner and already used to these things. Whose fault was the near-miss? Well, mine mostly. If I had followed procedure and
checked both mirrors before moving off, I would have seen her squeezing her way between my lorry and the other cars, along to the front of the vehicle. And having seen her, I would have left the handbrake on and sat tight. So it was a good learning experience for me.
As for her, if she plans on using these sorts of tactics on a regular basis, she might do well to use a hi-vis vest and a helmet.
That particular day, she seemed to have left both at home.
I have been reading CM since Truck ceased publication, which must be quite a few years now. It gets better with every issue. Thanks for producing such a good read. William Leigh-Pemberton Shanghai, China
Ed's note: William was kind enough to send us two letters from China and, space permitting, we'll publish his second next week.