Motorcyclist comes face to face with HGV danger

A motorcyclist has captured on film the moment he came face to face with HGV danger and lived to tell the tale.

If you thought HGV danger was limited to becoming trapped on the nearside, think again. Shocking new footage on YouTube reveals that a left turning lorry is as much of a threat to those in oncoming traffic as it is to those travelling in the same direction.

https://youtu.be/C1aSvoIpVss

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A stationary motorcyclist waiting at lights in a side road in central London is struck head on by a 16-ton lorry turning left. The driver is completely unaware of the motorcyclist, who has a miraculous escape. With the motorcycle trapped beneath the wheels of the lorry the driver eventually gets out of his cab. It is left to a passer by to check whether the motorcyclist is ok – the driver seems more concerned with the condition of his lorry.

The footage serves as a warning not only to those on motorbikes, but cyclist and pedestrians. Britain suffers a disproportionately high number of road traffic collisions involving heavy goods vehicles. Over half of cyclist deaths in London involved lorries. The best advice is to assume that you have not been seen by the HGV driver – multiple blind spots means there’s a good chance you haven’t.

HGV danger

Strict regulations are imposed in order to create a level playing field for truck companies across Europe – a practice that has stifled improvements in design that could improve fuel efficiency, but more importantly, safety for other road users. A new bill promises to allow manufacturers to build heavier and larger trucks on the proviso they reduce HGV danger and use less fuel. This would be achieved by transforms brick-shaped lorry cabs into a rounded shape with bigger windows to reduce blind spots.

The European parliament is asking for the rules to come into force as soon as possible, but representatives from France and Sweden - both home to large truck manufacturers - are requesting to postpone it for at least 8 years.

According to Transport & Environment senior advisor William Todts: “The truck industry is operating like a cartel. They try to kill innovation and competition but may end up killing real people too. New curvy truck designs could save up to 900 lives every year and actually save businesses money."

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