Lorry drivers 'need educating about cyclists'

Neil Maroni, whose cousin died earlier this month, spoke out a day after another London cyclist was killed, and a second critically injured, in two separate collisions involving lorries.

Yesterday's fatal accident happened in the City. The second, in Kensington, left a cyclist with serious injuries after apparently being struck by a left-turning lorry.

Ten days ago Mr Maroni's cousin, Lisa Pontecorvo, 64, was killed instantly when she was hit by a cement mixer while wheeling her bicycle across the A1 Holloway Road in north London.

Witnesses say traffic had stopped in both directions but as Ms Pontecorvo, an experienced cyclist, walked across the road the mixer edged forward.

A post mortem at St Pancras coroner's court gave the cause of her death as multiple injuries. No one has been arrested over the death of Ms Pontecorvo or the Kensington accident, but the lorry driver involved in the City collision has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

Now Mr Maroni is calling for the drivers of heavy vehicles to be more "empathic" towards cyclists. The former triathlete, 52, said: "They need to be more empathic towards cyclists and the education they receive before passing their HGV licence should include watching videos of accidents. They simply do not understand the threat that blind spots pose for a cyclist and the need for intelligent and respectful positioning at a sensible speed."

Meanwhile Peter Wright, the father of Rosie Wright, who was killed last year by a lorry turning on Pentonville Road, believes there must be a fundamental overhaul of government cycling policy.

Mr Wright, 62, a Formula 1 safety advisor, said: "The fundamental problem is that bikes and trucks on London's roads just don't mix. In Holland they separate cyclists from traffic and give bikes priority and we need to think how we can separate them.

"There's pressure from the Government to cycle but we don't have the infrastructure to make it safe and I think mandatory cycle training would help."

His comments follow the Evening Standard's Safer Cycling Campaign, which has called for better facilities, extra funding, more training and the examination of the cause of accidents. In 2005, 20 cyclists were killed and 338 injured on London's roads. In 2006, 18 were killed and 349 injured and last year 14 died and 253 were injured.

More than half of those killed are involved in accidents with lorries and experts fear the death toll could rise as construction lorries pack onto London's roads in the build up to the 2012 Olympics.

A Transport for London spokeswoman said cycle deaths since the Nineties are down 19 per cent despite a 91 per cent rise in cycling.