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Awareness saves lives

3rd June 2010, Page 26
3rd June 2010
Page 26
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Page 26, 3rd June 2010 — Awareness saves lives
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

HGVs are the biggest vehicles on the road and, as such, should be treated with healthy respect by motorists, bikers and cyclists. But the sheer size of trucks sometimes makes it more difficult for their drivers to be fully aware of what surrounding road users are up to. Despite new regulations to improve mirror systems, there are still blind spots that need to be guarded against. Hi-tech aids can warn against other potential hazards, but some road users simply do not appreciate how HGVs are manoeuvred.

Here are some basic guidelines that HGV drivers need to follow to maximise awareness of what is happening in the surrounding road space.

Understanding other road users

Imagining how other road users feel is probably not a priority for truck drivers battling to meet deadlines in busy urban areas But this may be one of the most important ways to avoid collisions Nich Brown, general secretary of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAO), says research shows that the drivers least likely to be in a collision with bikers are the ones who ride themselves: "The next least likely group are the ones who know a motorcyclist."

Understanding how different types of cyclist behave on the road forms part of a safety training programme for the 3,500 truck drivers working on the Crossrail project in London. Programme manager Mike Heduan says some "swerve in and out of traffic, probably go through red lights and tend to think they're invincible".

Motorists need careful consideration as well An opinion poll for the RAC Foundation found that nearly a quarter of drivers were fearful of HGVs overtaking them. Spokesman Philip Gomm accepts that most

Junctions

Department for Transport statistics for serious or fatal accidents between motorcyclists and other vehicles at road junctions show nearly half of drivers had failed to look properly. Dr Shaun Heiman, principal psychologist at transport research body TRL. believes one explanation for this is that motorcycles only account for around 1%, of licensed vehicles.

-So most of the time drivers are looking for cars, lorries and vans, which leads them to expect to see those vehicles Even though the motorcyclist is perfectly visible to your eyes, you don't pick up on that because you're not sensitive to their presence," he explains.

He adds that even when an oncoming motorcyclist is seen by a driver waiting to turn out of a junction, the speed of travel is often miscalculated. This is because people tend to overestimate the amount of time it will take smaller objects to travel than larger ones When approaching roundabouts, drivers on SAFED (Safe and Fuel-Efficient Driving) courses are taught to read the situation ahead so they can maintain the vehicle's momentum as much as possible. Paul Forsdick, an instructor who runs SAFED courses at Sigma Studies (Training), says this not only saves fuel, but also reduces the chances of nearby motorists misunderstanding the way the lorry is being manoeuvred from the roundabout entrance to its exit.

Turning Left

The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on London's roads has fallen by a fifth in the last decade, even though the number of cycle journeys on major roads in the capital has more than doubled during that period.

But the number of fatal collisions between bikes and trucks in the capital persistently hovers around nine per year, according to Charlie Lloyd of the London Cycle Campaign: -Over half of those fatalities are caused by trucks turning left at junctions"

As a former lorry driver himself, he acknowledges that

cyclists can he to blame by unexpectedly coming up on the inside of lorries. "But even if the cyclist has been careless. the consequences can be so horrible that it's up to the driver to he protective to such vulnerable road users.

In a training module about sharing the road, developed by Interactive Driving Systems (1DS), drivers are advised never to overtake cyclists just before turning across their path because the cyclist may be travelling faster than expected. Devices such as Brigade Electronics' Sidescan system, which detects objects on the nearside of trucks with Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents fact sheet about coLlisions between cyclists and Lorries: tp://bit .1y/cn W11. , Interactive Driving Systems provides training to develop a 'crash free culture' among fleet drivers: 01484 551060

i.p://wwv, r.netima

TRL has a library of free, downloadable reports about the causes of road accidents: 01344 77313 http://hit.Ly/cFXFLV ultra-sonic sensors, can alert drivers to ally potential danger they pose to vulnerable road users at junctions (Safety on the side', (7M8 April, 2010).

A recent report by national cyclists' organisation CTC showed that women cyclists are particularly at risk from lorries — 10 of the 13 cyclists who died in accidents in London last year were women and eight were killed by H0Vs.There are around three-times as many male cyclists in the capital. In 2007, a Transport for London report suggested that men's tendency to disobey red lights meant they were less likely to be caught in a truck's blind spot.

Overtaking

Forsdick says that truck drivers need to use their wideangle mirrors with care when pulling out into the middle lane of motorways. This is to spot vehicles approaching from behind that are switching from the fast to the middle lane. "That's when the majority of shunts happen or people swerve and hit the brakes because the driver has not seen what's happening."

MAG's Brown advises lorry drivers to pull in to the nearside of the road if they see a hiker wanting to overtake them. But he warns that, unless there is a sufficient overtaking gap in the oncoming traffic, all the driver does is "create uncertainty and kick up dust clouds from the gutter".

The IDS module says drivers should give cyclists a clearance of at least a metre when overtaking them and warns that the `windblast' effect of going past at speed can push the cyclist over.


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