Riding home this afternoon, on a seperated cycleway. Big construction project/motorway extention going on, which the cyclepath runs through. Site entrances cross the cyclepath to the road.
I've been riding this route for a few months now, and there has been very little work going on in this part, but on my way home this afternoon it was very busy. I successfully dodged a digger bucket as it swung it out right on head height, and negotiated the bit where half the path had sunk due to excavation beside, up the rise to where the site entrance is, and there's a wagon parked across the path. So I think… round the back or the front? Back = into site, moving machines, behind truck (blind spot), so I go in front…….
Just as he moves off for a gap in the traffic on the road. I'm so close as he starts moving, I realise he hasn't seen me, and all I could think about is "He can't see you now, 'cause you're right under him". Now I'm right in front, I raise up my arm in a futile gesture to ward off 30ton of wagon, pushing against the front, as he drives me sideways. Bike goes under, I (step/leap/am thrown???) out in front, landing on my feet as he jolts to a stop.
Of course I then punch the front of the lorry a couple of times, just so it knows who's boss.
Breif exchange of pleasantries, and I pick up the (undamaged) bike and complete my ride home (of which I have no recollection).

Am I lucky?

PS: I called the construction company, and mentioned the complete lack of safety procedures, and so I could feel that an independent third party was involved I called the H&S folks at the Dept. of Labour, who seemed VERY interested.

sounds of it, yes, you were lucky.

Very lucky by the sounds of it. Did you know there was a driver in the truck waiting to pull out though or did you think it had just been left parked there? If you knew there was a driver in you're a bit of a muppet for being so impatient and trying to go in front of it…

Chalk up another cyclist hating truckie…

If you knew there was someone in the truck you need eye contact, you should continue to slow and even be ready to stop until you do

sounds lucky.

Im a bit with Fuzzy though.

I always try and gain eye contact if Im at all unsure about what some traffic might do wherever it is. If I dont get eye contact, I assume I havent been seen. Esp roundabouts, T junctions and Taxicab doors.

10+ years of riding in London and no near misses yet
*taps wooden head*

That's the trouble here FW, there was no way I could tell what the truck was up to, he was far enough back from the road for me to think he was not pulling out, and close enough to the site to think he may have been loading, and no I didn't see the driver on the right, as I approached from the left.
I'm not trying to evade blame, and I also don't blame the driver, but there needs to be much better procedures in place on this site to stop people making potentially fatal mistakes.

You know Stoner I do consider that I ride defensively in traffic, road traffic that is. I missed the cues to analayse the behaviour of traffic on a construction site however.

I completely agree that the site manager is responsible for monitoring traffic accessing the site, especially when crossing a footpath or a cyclepath – I would place far more blame on the site management than on you chopper! 🙂

http://www.healthandsafety.co.uk/traffic.htm

Reads to me like you rode out infront of a vehicle looking to turn into a road, if so then that's v. risky! I'm probably wrong though 🙂

There should have been a banksman ensuring that it was safe for the driver to cross the footway or cycleway. Contractors are obliged to ensure that it's as near as impossible for this kind of thing to happen. The public should not be able to put themselves at risk from site traffic whether they're in the wrong or not.

That's the trouble here FW, there was no way I could tell what the truck was up to, he was far enough back from the road for me to think he was not pulling out, and close enough to the site to think he may have been loading, and no I didn't see the driver on the right, as I approached from the left.

That was your mistake. If you're unsure what a vehicle is doing, and you can't see the driver, don't go anywhere near it. Especially trucks and heavy plant. That's the golden rule.
Yep, maybe there should have been a banksman but in the absence of one, err well on the side of caution.
Glad you're OK though, and yes, get hold of the site manager and be polite about it. He should put something in place to stop it happening again. If not, find out who the contractor is and take it further. Most (Hopefully all…) larger firms these days are well on top of their H&S and I'd be amazed if something isn't sorted pronto.

(p.s. I've worked in construction and quarrying for 20 years now, I've got a heavy plant ticket, I've been a plant foreman, I'm a safety rep)

Glad to hear you're OK after that experience

Sounds to me as though it would have to reported under RIDDOR. In laymanys terms this is a statutory requirement to report any diseases, injuries or dangerous occurances which happen on or resulting from works on site to the HSE. The HSE will almost certainly be paying the site manager a visit in the not too distant future.

Bladysquirt & Peterpoddy are correct AKAIK too.

Banskman's for reversing isn't it? I'm guessing they would hope a driver moving forward was capable of actually seeing what was going on in front?

Sounds like you were lucky chopper, get that lottery ticket bought!

Yeah, lucky escape, TBH I'm with the others here, if in any doubt at all, stop, and make sure the driver acknowledges you're there, or the banksman/foreman waves you on…

Hey now PP, even I know "don't proceed until the operator has acknowledged you" when on site. 😳 But i was completely caught out. In my little world I was riding on a cycle path, not a construction site.
BTW, I didn't go off at the truckie, or the people I talked to later, I just consider myself lucky and hope that nobody else needs the luck I had today.

the site entrance is, and there's a wagon parked across the path. So I think… round the back or the front? Back = into site, moving machines, behind truck (blind spot), so I go in front…….

sounds to me like he was clearly waiting to come out of the gate.
waiting behind the cycle path would have made it more difficult to come out, as from the road it would not be clear thats what he wanted, and if he saw a gap, it would have had to have been a lot bigger to check both the cycle path, the road, the oncoming road as hes going to have to swing across it?

either, give him a VERY wide bearth out the front so he can see you.
or
god forbid you add 10 seconds onto your commute,

wait?

you may have "right of way" but he is a 30T truck, and no amount of health and safety legislation is going to change the fact that hes bigger than you.
sorry to sound unsympathetic chaps, but i am.

glad your ok though! close call