We're not that different after all
Page 10
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AS SOMEONE who has driven trucks for 30 years and cycled (103,000 miles so far) for 25 years, my magazine reading has become most uncomfortable of late.
My favourite truck magazine (CM, of course) is full of anticyclist articles, and my cycling magazines also seem to contain large doses of anti-truck rhetoric on a regular basis. So forgive me if your cover headlines of "Trucks v cycles" and "The public are on our side" strikes the wrong note with me. Anyone who sets out on the road with the idea that it's them against any type of road user has got the wrong attitude.
Whatever we are driving or riding, we are all human beings; and whether we think other road users should behave better, or not be there at all, we still have a duty to take every care to avoid accidents. All road users, to some extent, break the rules to the limit that they think they can get away with.
I don't condone any form of bad behaviour on the roads, and would welcome better enforcement of the rules for all, including cyclists. There is much I could say on this topic, but I'll confine myself to a few bullet points:
• Truck v cycles? Us and them? Being a petrolhead isn't incompatible with being an enthusiastic cyclist; and a lot of cyclists are also drivers.
• Cycle helmets (I wear one), are designed to prevent head injuries in the event of a fall. They are useless if you're run over by a truck. • As many middle-range cars now come with cameras, proximity sensors, etc, as standard, and top-end cars can almost drive themselves,
is it so unreasonable that trucks, with all their blind spots, should embrace this technology?
• To put the record straight, many, although probably not the majority, of cyclists have thirdparty insurance. If you are a member of any cycling organisation, you have third-party cover. So what do I wish for? That both sides would admit to their faults. You only have to spend five minutes in a busy city centre to see how many silly and inconsiderate cyclists there are. And you only have to spend five minutes on a
busy motorway to see how many incompetent and aggressive truck drivers there are.
Both sides should try to understand the problems that each has in getting around on crowded roads. Unless you've tried cycling, you don't know just how vulnerable you can feel; and unless you've tried to get around in an LGV, juggling schedules, tacho hours, WTD and dealing with cars, pedestrians, cyclists, traffic lights, etc, you can't know just how demanding that can be. Alan Roadley Burnley, Lancs Ed's note: Thanks for your comments Alan. We hope you enjoy next week's issue: we've asked the public who they think are the worst drivers on the road