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'At present most concrete is delivered in ready mix form in cement mixers. It could equally be delivered at night to mixer stations on site.
It can be done, it just isn't, because it's more expensive to do it that way'
You could get a train or a bus but you dont because it's expensive.

- Tim, London, 19/08/2009 16:11
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Simon Scott yes filtering to the right is the most logical thing to do but most drivers don't understand this. I constantly get drivers screaming at me with the middle finger dangling out of windows from a driver who just doesn't get why a cyclist would be on the right hand side of a lane when they are turning left.

As a cyclist I do sometimes feel as if i'm in the middle of an obstacle course. Pedestrians cross whenever they feel like it if you ring your bell they either ignore you or can't hear you with their earphones in, the usual suspects are mothers sticking their pushchairs out (ever tried cycling down peckham rye). Buses race down on your side of the road,they pull out of the bus lane or bus stops without looking and if you swerve right you will get hit by oncoming traffic who will scream and get the middle finger out and tell you that they don't care what the bus does. Cabs will dash to get in front of you without indicating only to slam on breaks and as you swerve you will be met with a flying door heading towards you and a passenger jumping out in your direction. And the best part was a serious head injury I got from been attacked by a fellow cyclist for stopping at a traffic light as it slowed them down. No one stopped to help and traffic beeped me to get out of their way when it turned green. I follow the rules of the road religiously as I value my life but I don't have much respect for all road users.

- Sam, London, 18/08/2009 13:47
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the government have done nothing to make the roads better for cyclists

i ride to work and home 2 times a day. that's 10 times a week i take the chance.

It's dangerous out there and filthy

RIP those who died and may those injured make a swift recovery

- Mike, London SE1, 18/08/2009 11:19
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I hate to say it but even as a daily motorcycle commuter (I have my own issues with 4 wheeled vehicles trying to injure/kill me - I do hope the chap on the bike from monday gets better) that a lot of cyclists really don't help themselves moving up the left hand side of vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks etc) clearly indicating to turn left at junctions or sets of lights that have turned green. Sorry but if you are moving up the inside of vehicles turning left you really should be giving way if carrying straight on or moving to the right to pass instead. A properly trained motorcyclist with a full license would never do this cos its generally gonna hurt!
Note I have no issues with cyclists who show consideration for other road users and fully observe the highway code. To be honest motorcyclists shouldn't be the cyclists enemy (granted there are some bad rider of course) but we prob are seen by some as just that, however we generally are fully aware of whats going round us, something that cannot be said about some cyclists who really don't help themselves.

- Simon Scott, London, UK, 13/08/2009 17:27
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At present most concrete is delivered in ready mix form in cement mixers. It could equally be delivered at night to mixer stations on site.
It can be done, it just isn't, because it's more expensive to do it that way.

Meanwhile cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians pay the price. Other european cities have daytime bans on large vehicles. London could, it's a lack of political willpower that is topping this from happening.

An entire low carbon small delivery vehicle system could replace most deliveries. Many of the HGVs that deliver to where I work are almost empty - very little that they deliver couldn't equally be delivered by van and that van could be an electric van.

Boris could sit down and hash out a competition for a hybrid or electric delivery van for London to complement his new generation double-decker bus. Who knows, perhaps a Uk firm could win it?

- Alex Ball, London, UK, 11/08/2009 11:59
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It's very sad a lady nearly lost her life and people take it as a chance to complain about a few foolish road users. I think we can all agree there are as many risk taking cyclists as their are aggresive foolish drivers (of motorbikes, cars and HGV)
Londons roads weren't designed for the variety and volumes of traffic they hold. Cycle lanes and legal restrictions will not make the problem go away any more than increased consideration for others and maybe getting up 10 minutes earlier so you don't have to rush!

I guess you have to see a near fatal accident or be part of one before you actually realise the impact of driving/riding without care!?

- Pip, London, 11/08/2009 11:22
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The problem is that HGV drivers are not sufficiently worried about the consequences of making dangerous manoeuvres without checking properly.
There are sufficient mirrors on any modern truck (if it's legal) - what is lacking is the use of them.

If all HGV drivers knew they would never be allowed to drive again if they killed someone (and would face significant jail time), they would be much more careful.

I speak as someone who has driven HGVs in London.

- Phil Lee, cambridge, 11/08/2009 01:12
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Unfortunately it's not practical to ban lorries from daytime traffic - but we need to find a way to increase awareness of cyclists on the road, as lorry drivers clearly are still making dangerous, and often fatal mistakes.

People slate cyclists for not abiding by the rules of the road - but more often than not we're trying to keep ourselves out of harm's way by making sure we're not caught on the inside of a left-turning vehicle, or trying to keep ahead of a large or aggressively-driven vehicle so that we're not in danger. Granted, some cyclists can be foolish - but very few injuries are caused by cyclists and virtually no fatalities, whereas motor vehicles, and especially HGVs, are accountable for far more injuries and deaths.

So put it in perspective. Cyclists may annoy you, but they're very unlikely to cause you damage - but even though they take pressure off the public transport system, emit no pollutants and help keep our roads flowing more smoothly (by reducing the number of motor vehicles on the road), they are still treated as interlopers on the road and all too often blamed when they are killed by poorly-driven lorries. That's kinda disproportionate for a bit of red-light-jumping.

- Matt, London, UK, 11/08/2009 00:16
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We should not rush to generalise or presume the circumstances surrounding serious / fatal incidents where cyclists get run over by trucks. In no other situation that I can think of do people like Joseph or Frank feel legitimised in almost rejoicing the injury of another human being.
I couldn't imagine a situation where a cyclist, on witnessing a car driver fighting for his life through no known fault of his/her own, would make such crass and callous comments.

- Fred, london, 10/08/2009 23:55
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Frank,

If you read the reports of the cyclist deaths under lorries in London this year, in almost all cases the driver was arrested for causing death by dangerous driving. That does not tend to indicate fault from the cyclist and I repeat, whatever the cyclist behaviour, bus and coach drivers seem to manage just fine without killing them for it. Yes, banning lorries from London roads isn't practical but demanding much higher driving standards (from the drivers and the companies) before they can drive on London's roads is feasible and long overdue.

- Tony, Cambridge, 10/08/2009 22:16
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The problem with cyclist/HGV interactions at junctions is often (not invariably) where a cyclist is stationary and the vehicle comes up to their right. I've been caught a couple of times that way and been lucky no to have barriers to me left so I've had an escape route.

If you're going to object to cyclists with iPods, maybe you should also remove radios from cars ... no? Didn't think so ...

"Cyclist rage or as I call it CycloRage is abundant; these new mad road warriors make Mad Max's enemies look like pussy cats" ... can I send this in to Private Eye please?

- Justin Beattie, London, UK, 10/08/2009 21:42
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Perhaps Alex Ball could let us all know how any building work would be carried out in the city if cement mixing lorries (like the one involved in the accident in the article above) were to be banned from the streets?

If cyclists read and complied with the Highway Code there would be far fewer killed and injured. They mostly ride as if they are above the law.

- Frank, Portsmouth, 10/08/2009 19:43
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Joseph, a completely illogical and pointless remark, probably written on purpose to incite either strong anti-cyclist debate or the opposite.
Guy, the highway code states that cyclists are too ride on the left hand side of the road- or would you prefer them to ride up the middle, or even worse in the oncoming traffic lane?
I find it remarkable that callous remarks can be made about the actions of others before the actions are not known.

- Grant Campbell, London UK, 10/08/2009 19:39
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The common denominator is that we are all commuters trying to get from one place to another.
My observation of cyclists is that they do not respect this.
It is not a race; they do have to queue, they do have to give way to pedestrians, cars, motorbikes and other cyclists, patience and attention to the environment they move about in needs to be shown (including listening to what is going on around them instead of a blaring IPod) - I believe that the road rage in cars is a thing of the past - Cyclist rage or as I call it CycloRage is abundant; these new mad road warriors make Mad Max's enemies look like pussy cats.

- Michael, East Dulwich; UK, 10/08/2009 19:25
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The problem is not cyclists or most motor traffic. Its poorly driven lorries and they need dealing with. Lorries are less than 1% of the traffic on London Roads yet they are responsible for more than 50% of cyclist deaths. Buses which are equally large and cumbersome to drive don't have that problem so it must be down to the driving standards. The sort of standards that tie the rear doors together with a coat hanger so they almost took out Boris recently. The sort of standards of a driver too busy checking his payslip to notice Emma Foa before he killed her.

In a spot check last year 12 out of 12 lorries stopped by police had problems ranging from working hours (5 cases), mechanical faults (5 cases) uninsured (2 cases), overloaded (2 cases) using a mobile phone while driving (2 cases) and no operator's license (1 case). One only has to spend a short time on a bicycle in London to realise some of these vehicles are driven in a different and altogether more dangerous way than buses or other large vehicles

That's not to say all lorry drivers are at fault but there is a sufficient number to create a problem and a problem that needs dealing with before more are injured and killed by their recklessness.

- Tony, Cambridge, 10/08/2009 19:15
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Guy, filtering to the left of cars at an intersection is very risky. Unfortunately that is where the cycle lanes are painted and many inexperienced cyclists believe they are following the rules and will be safe. Getting in front of cars and waiting in the ASLs, that are usually full of black cabs and Addison Lee vans, is the safest place to be. It has nothing to do with 'waiting their turn' it has to do with being visible to cars.

Joseph, your comment applies tenfold to the drivers who are striking, hitting and killing cyclists.

- Dale, London, 10/08/2009 19:13
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The left hand side of large vehicles may indeed be a death trap but only if the vehicle turns left or moves left without knowing what is in the space they move into, and they are supposed to know what's there

the increase in heavy trucks using the roads in London is stupid, these accidents are usually cement trucks and skip trucks turning left with a bike inside them that they haven't seen

bikes aren't actually invisible but some drivers either can't be bothered to look or don't care

- Tynan, London, 10/08/2009 18:15
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A lot of motorists are completely reckless, and should not be allowed anywhere near a road

- Graham, London, 10/08/2009 18:11
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A lot of cyclists are completly reckless, and should not be allowed anywhere near a road.

- Joseph Nelson, bromley england, 10/08/2009 17:49
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As a motorist I get fed up with cyclists coming up on the LH side when I am waiting at traffic lights. They need to learn that it is a death trap for them; and wait their turn like everyone else.

- Guy Chapman, London, 10/08/2009 17:46
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Maybe true Alex, but its not practical to exclude them - however much I, as a daily cyclist would applaud that. Even restricting use to particular times isn't really viable. Maybe there's something that could be done to prohibit use on a particular route but there will always be deliveries and it would come down to enforcement - something that's hard to do without throwing vast resources at it (I'm not saying they shouldn't try!)

Left turns by big trucks does seem to figure pretty often as the perceived cause. We can't stop someone overtaking us then turning left, but by not pulling alongside buses and lorries at junctions we can at least minimize the risk. Nowhere, particularly not work is worth getting to so badly to take risks.

Ideally we wouldn't need to take these measures but short of a epic change of policy we're all going to have to share the roads.

- Simon, Brixton, 10/08/2009 17:42
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Yet another example to the idiots who tried to link the shape of London's buses to cyclist safety rather than looking at the facts, which is that HGVs are the single biggest cause of deaths and presumably serious injuries to cyclists.

Better, tougher regulation, identification and elimination of key blackspots (although the Southwark bridge one is well known, and on Boris's first Cycle Superhighway to boot) and the prioritisation of cyclists over other road users would do me, and I'm not even that much of a cyclist - it just makes me sad and angry that people who choose a sustainable, healthy way of getting around the city are exposed to known dangers while those who choose the antisocial cocoon of a motor car are pandered to.

- Tom, London, UK, 10/08/2009 17:17
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How many more cyclists and pedestrians will need to be killed or seriously injured by heavy good vehicles before common sense prevails and we finally decide to remove these death traps from the city's roads?
Almost all of the cyclist' deaths over the last five years have been caused by HGVs. These vehicles do not mix with a medieval road layout and 21st century traffic levels.

- Alex Ball, London, UK, 10/08/2009 16:16
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