No more cyclist deaths
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
On 2 December 2011 one of my drivers was involved in a road traffic collision, which resulted in the death of cyclist Eleanor Carey. The media was relentless, my company ELB Partners was written about in both local and national news. These reports were totally misleading.
The inquest into Eleanor's death was exceptionally difficult and various details were released.
Eleanor was wearing headphones that day. She cycled up the inside of my vehicle, which was signalling left and was correctly positioned to make the manoeuvre when the traffic lights changed. However, she did not stay behind the vehicle, she continued to cycle up the inside.
ELB Partners was acquitted of any wrongdoing. At the end of the inquest, I passed on my condolences to Eleanor's father and assured him ELB Partners was actively doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of this terrible accident, to which he replied "that is all I could ask" and thanked me for doing so. ELB is a Fors member and we're striving to achieve silver membership. While I understand not every haulier in London operates to this level, we all have to adhere to exceptionally
strict criteria — yet cyclists have little or no regulation placed on them.
I would like to propose the introduction of a mandatory London cyclist awareness course, which would be obligatory for all cyclists who wish to cycle in and around the capital. The law states I have to put my drivers through 35 hours of Driver CPC training every five years and, while I wouldn't expect a cyclist course to be as intense, knowledge of vehicle blind spots, and an understanding of why you should not jump red lights or cycle along the inside of a vehicle are a few examples of the basic knowledge a cyclist should have as a road user. Peter Eason MD, ELB Partners