http://road.cc/content/news/98839-cyclist-killed-another-seriously-injured-separate-incidents-involving-london

Just how many more needless deaths before the police take action against errant drivers.

‘kin hell. Three deaths inside a week 🙁

Tragic for the families of those involved, but IMO it won’t yet create any impetus for change. I reckon there are probably some drivers out there who’ll think along the lines of “Well, it’s their fault anyway … Riding around like they own the roads … Not giving a to55 about motorists … Not paying road tax … Blah blah.”

I wont commute on a bike. Too many close misses.

While the benefits of cycling continue to significantly outweigh the risks

They still do for me.

I’ve had very few close misses in 10 years of commuting, less than one a year – I guess it depends where you are and what routes you have to use., so others experience may differ.

I work as a firefighter within the borough of Croydon and have just come on duty, speaking to a colleauge who attended the incident there was a suggestion that the cyclist tragically killed either fell as a result of falling into the tram tracks (something that has happened to me before) or was swerving to avoid them, and unfortunately the bus just happened to be there and unable to stop in time.

So although not definitive it would appear to be misfortune rather than down to careless driving on this occaison. Still thoughts with the family 🙁

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html?pagewanted=all

So here’s my proposal: Every time you get on a bike, from this moment forward, obey the letter of the law in every traffic exchange everywhere to help drivers (and police officers) view cyclists as predictable users of the road who deserve respect.

If this made a difference then….do you think the motorists would really notice though….

Tragic… 🙁

Looking forward to the Nottingham tram extension now then….. 🙄

Terrible news for the families, again.

Liked the NYtimes article..

So here’s my proposal: Every time you get on a bike, from this moment forward, obey the letter of the law in every traffic exchange everywhere to help drivers (and police officers) view cyclists as predictable users of the road who deserve respect. And every time you get behind the wheel, remember that even the slightest inattention can maim or kill a human being enjoying a legitimate form of transportation.

Things seem to get worse when the nights start closing in
as a daily cycle commuter in london with 2 young kids it does make me worry

this is worrying.
everyone is pissed off at this busy time of year and the visibility and weather make it worse. all road users seem to behave badly and take stupid risks.

Near misses mean bugger all to me…its the one that gets you i worry about. I work with victims of RTA’s and their acquired brain injuries and its horrific for all. Will continue to drive and pay due care and attention to all road users.

Just to many people in life in a hurry without thinking about others.

oh dear.

Careful round the big things and watch the road surface, people.

Here’s a respons to that NYtimes article with some interesting points:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/shafted-again.html (contains anger and swears)

A non-cycling friend always bangs on about how ‘cyclists don’t do themselves any favours’, even though I point out that cyclists tend not to kill people, and the vast majority of us are actually really quite aware of how easily killed we can be, and tend to ride with our own self-preservation in mind, but he seems to think that cyclists bring it on themselves when they get knocked off by cars (nothing to do with countless morons driving tonnes of metal around whilst distracted by sat nav, ‘phones, screaming children etc).

He was given a bike recently, and has been out on it a couple of times. Surprise surprise, ‘some drivers are mental, they just don’t look where they’re going, or look out for anyone else on the road’. 😐

Large trucks should be banned from central London, and restricted to multi-carriageway main roads. London’s roads just aren’t designed to cope with vehicles that size, it’s insane.

More awareness is needed all round. We have all sorts of public service advertising around smoking, drug use, kids’ road safety, but next to nothing about cycling. About time some of the taxes cyclists pay were used for such safety campaigns. More research by vehicle manufacturers into safer designs (where drivers have greater all-round visibility) is needed too.

Next time you’re in London just take a look at the average cycling skills and cyclist awareness and its easy to see why they are dropping like flies

I ride a lot in London with the attitude that everyone is going to try and kill me, even the pedestrians. Always take the pavement if you’re unsure. Ride slowly and in control away from the big metal boxes with people texting inside

AND ANOTHER CYCLIST KILLED TODAY IN LONDON

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24925390

plumber – Member
Next time you’re in London just take a look at the average cycling skills and cyclist awareness and its easy to see why they are dropping like flies

I ride a lot in London with the attitude that everyone is going to try and kill me, even the pedestrians. Always take the pavement if you’re unsure. Ride slowly and in control away from the big metal boxes with people texting inside

Hear, hear! Also, try and stay away from pedestrians staring blankly at their phones as they step in to the street, cyclists deaf to the world around them as they listen to their banging choons and heading up the inside of the aforementioned big metal boxes, etc. etc. etc.

There’s no one finger of blame that can be pointed here. ALL road users need to be more aware and use far more common sense….

One death is too many, I agree, but we ALL need to take more care.

plumber – Member
Next time you’re in London just take a look at the average cycling skills and cyclist awareness and its easy to see why they are dropping like flies
I ride a lot in London with the attitude that everyone is going to try and kill me, even the pedestrians. Always take the pavement if you’re unsure. Ride slowly and in control away from the big metal boxes with people texting inside

True- I survived 7yrs of commuting from zone 2 into central London daily. I gained a sixth sense and 360 degree awareness on the bike. Its what saved me from being side-swipped by a large truck here in Manchester (I hopped onto the pavement before he took my space up).

Two incidents this morning alone, a woman on Bow Roundabout (so now the third cyclist death caused by a truck on that junction in 2 years) and a male cyclist on Millbank who got airlifted to Kings after a collision with (you guessed it) a truck.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24925390

This time of year is always horrific – most people don’t drive at night regularly so with the relatively sudden onset of dark nights, wet/cold weather, wet leaves on the road… all driving standards go down the drain for about a month. Cars and bikes without lights, cars still trying to drive at “normal” speeds without regard to the conditions, the cold often causes misted up windows so drivers can’t see as well (but will still drive rather than wait for it to clear…) It’s horrendous.

🙁

Shit, very bad news.

Condolences to all Families and Friends of the cyclists involved.

I saw a tweet (or could have been an article) the other day which suggested the media stop reporting these incidents as killing cyclists, Instead the press should refer to the men and women as what else they are: mothers, fathers, son, daughters etc. It de-humanises them otherwise. They happened to be cycling at the time they died, but most people who ride bikes are also drivers, and we should be defined by what we were doing at the time of our deaths.

The same point was made a few years back after women were murdered in Ipswich. They worked as prostitutes so the press had headlines of ‘Prostitute murdered’ which marginalises their deaths because of what they did to earn money.

So although not definitive it would appear to be misfortune rather than down to careless driving on this occaison.

No, it’s bad road design. Calling it misfortune makes it “just one of those things”, whereas what it is is corporate manslaughter.

Id say that on the whole cyclists on London are pretty good with lights hi viz stuff, even road positioning, certainly better than cambridge!

Id say that on the whole cyclists on London are pretty good with lights hi viz stuff, even road positioning, certainly better than cambridge!

Safety in numbers though. How many high’vis cars do you see since they became popular enough not to need a man with a red flag in front to warn other road users that something unexpected was coming?

All very sad indeed. Thoughts go to the families.
I’ve only been commuting in london 5 months and on the whole not alot of issues. I find black cab drivers(360 vision) to be the best at being aware of their surroundings and buses(just have to get to that next stop before you) the worst.
However to echo what was said above the standard of cycling is often a joke. i daily see people risking their lives at red lights and cutting in and out of traffic to save a few seconds. if someones turning left don’t go up their inside! On the whole i obey the rules of the road and always end up having to re overtake these people who just have to get to the front. maybe they dont like being overtaken by a brompton!

The saddest thing is a lot of the cyclists who are getting knocked off seem to be doing most things right.
We all need to take more care out there.

Apologies for the Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2506215/Four-cyclists-killed-fighting-life-inside-days-Londons-roads.html

Just wrong.

However the quality of some of the cycling in London is on a par with the driving – shocker 😳

Unfortunately I drive in London frequently so have to endure both.

So what happened to putting a skirt around the side of lorries and what about this new cab design. As usual just talk as no one want to pay for it.