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Is the industry moving ahead fast enough on road safety?
That’s the question Construction Manager is asking in a ground-breaking online survey, sponsored by Mace, DAF, SIG and the Road Haulage Association. CM wants to find out how much progress the sector is making in eliminating the risks that have led to a catalogue of fatalities and serious accidents among cyclists and pedestrians – a catalogue that threatens to undermine the industry’s improving reputation in other areas of health and safety. London has been at the centre of the problem, with more than half of fatalities among cyclists in recent years involving large vehicles.
In 2011, seven out of 11 cyclist deaths were linked to construction vehicles. Late last year, as the industry began to wake up to the problem, an appalling eight deaths were linked to HGVs and buses in a six-week period. But the issue is not just a London one: HGVs and buses are involved in about 15% of cyclist and 10% of pedestrian fatalities nationwide.
Please take the survey: we need the weight of your opinion behind us. The survey closes on 8 August with results published in the September issue of CM.
Three lucky respondents will each receive a £50 Amazon voucher.
I’m regularly shocked at the driving standards in this country. Everything from tailgating to manouvreing at the last second. I spend a lot of time in my car and I’m a regular cyclist and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been cut up or pushed into the kerb whilst on my bike. We should adopt the same system as France, where if you hit a cyclist, you’re arrested and charged with dangerous driving and it’s up to you prove otherwise. Cyclists have as much right to the road as other users. So grow up, slow down and start dealing with it.
Cyclists don’t pay to be on the roads that the motorists have to pay for!
The industry should grow a set and push for more prosecutions of cyclist that do not know how to use the roads, jump lights etc, then they will see the reduction in accidents they are after.The government should put their money into more training for cyclists rather than pointless schemes aimed at costing the construction industry/PAYING road user more money, (which means more tax for the government of course)
It is a shame that most Councils have (or are) axing the Cycling Proficiency Schemes that give young cyclists a grounding in road safety. It is even more inportant, therefore, for private industry to take up the slack that this has created, by adopting initiatives such as CLOCS.
The roads in London are generally dangerous for cyclists as they are so busy and they need to be improved.
Some cycle lanes are extremely poorly designed particularly at roundabouts for cyclists turning right/ vehicles turning in front of cyclists ( cause of several deaths )
Many right turns for cyclists are dangerous without traffic lights. Construction can help by improving driving standards, particularly use of mobile phones and other in cab distractions. Vehicle design can also help with warnings and mirror design for example.
Improvements for cycling should be part of central and local government transport policy. It is worth remembering that more people cycle in central London than use other vehicles ( excepting bus users ) so there should be proportionate priority. Currently I would personally avoid cycling in central London in rush hour because it is too dangerous. A really good way of training construction drivers would be to get them to try cycling in London !
The arguement that the ‘road tax’ which vehicle drivers pay directly funds roads, and thus cyclists are some sort of lower prioroty road user, is a common misconception:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23694438
In reality, the money collected by taxing polluting vehicles goes straight into the general Treasury fund. There is no link between the value of ‘car tax’ received and the cost of expenditure on roads.
The most shocking thing will be if the industry thinks that it is doing enough. We need to have better trucks and stamp out the rogue tipper drivers. Tipper driver up in court on 5th August for killing cyclist, driving without an HGV licence, driving without insurance…
I, as a cyclist am saddened by all this. There needs to be education on both sides led by Government. I am constantly horrified by cyclist who ‘jump’ lights and undercut lorries. That in reality is why these incidents occur. There is blame on both sides.
Same old same old its OK to maim and kill cyclists because they don’t pay to be on the roads. I wonder what my income tax, VAT and excise duties go to pay for then. I don’t under cut motor vehicles but they do try to get past me 2m away from junctions and roundabouts and generally pass too close.