Protection of vulnerable road users from motorised traffic (both perceived and actual)

I did not mean exclusively stats for deaths. No need for long winded essays, a simple no would have been enough.

In other words, you’re pulling shit out of your ass. After not even understanding what you’re commenting on.

Just why am I not surprised.

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Surprises just don’t feature in you dull, bitter life?

Well, there is a surprise. Large trucks (LKW) have side underrun protection devices to minimize the occurrence of this type of accidents. Literally, the 1st truck I found on google maps. Basically all trucks have these protection devices:

These bars are supposed to pedestrians or cyclists away in case of a collision with the truck. So, people end up with bruises and maybe a few broken bones, but not killed after being crushed by the truck tires.

It seems side underrun protections are not working. Or very special vehicles like concrete mixers and what looks like a wood pellet transport are not the same as regular box trucks.

I have no idea what sort of truck it was that hit my friend’s husband but suffice it to say they had to get a DNA analysis to be able to officially identify him as it would have been too traumatic to get a family member to do it so it wasn’t a pretty sight.

The details may matter, whether the collision happened in front of the front axle for instance. And the rear axle always somewhat cuts the corner in a curve.

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Who knows.Rear wheel steering also makes trucks more agile and its counterintuitive for people.

One fact is that the accidents involve professional drivers which have better training, more frequent health checkups, zero tolerance for alcohol, the hours they work are counted to ensure proper rest, etc. So, there couldn’t be “better” drivers on the road. Compared to personal car drivers with poor sleep, long term medication, 2 beers…pro drivers are perfect, so what’s going on?

Probably down to the sheer amount of driving they do. If you’re driving for a living, you’re going to be on the road for substantially more hours than someone on a commute, for example. Higher probability.

(1 minute read)

Tell that to all the people who have been killed when waiting in a queue of traffic on a fast road and an inattentive lorry driver, normally scrolling on their phone, has driven over the top of the queue of cars.

The other point with phones is that in many countries, it is illegal to use a hand-held telephone whilst stationary, when the engine is on.
This is because the first thing people do when waiting in traffic - at a junction for example, is pick up their phone and check their social media, or scroll Tik Tok.
When the traffic starts moving, or the traffic lights change, the last thing these distracted drivers are thinking about when they move off is their mirrors/blind-spots etc.

Do trucks really need to be agile? I would say their huge mass forbids it. And commercial interests say their hardware needs to be light to maximise variable load, which also runs against agility.

Trucks behave different from cars because they initially “swerve” to the left when turning right, perhaps cyclists interpret this as the beginning of a left turn even though the indicator is binding, and see the larger space for them as an invitation to overtake, something that would make sense if the interpretation were correct.

Add the fact that turning trucks slow down mucho, even to walking pace, especially when loaded. That forces the cyclist to do the same, something they hate more than the plague, and despite being e-bikes nowadays.

Add the contemporary solipsistic behavior (see critical mass blocking everybody else just for the fun of showing everybody else a long nose) and you may well have recipe for disaster.

mmmm, agile was not the right word. The idea is to make the big machine to fit in small spaces because of a smaller turning radius, etc.

Yes, trucks steer a bit to the left before turning right. But, this is no invitation to get into their blind spot. This is suicide.

I’m curious because due to work I’m familiar with transport accident investigations. Not sure if full investigation reports are published for this events, privacy?

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First we have people complaining that cyclists are too slow and impede traffic (even though they are actually traffic).
Then we have people complaining that they are too fast.

Why not just say you hate cyclists because that is what your posts suggest.

It depends, including on the canton.

For ZH I’d start here

This seemed appropriate to share here. Neuchâtel is trying to promote safe behaviour around cyclists.

I had to watch that a few times to understand the points they were trying to make.
I don’t think the person who asked for the video to be created has ever ridden a bicycle or has a clear understanding of the physics of a moving vehicle and is actually giving dangerous information to cyclists:

Common, accepted riding techniques around parked cars is to give them a wide berth so if a car door is opened suddenly, the cyclist won’t hit it.
That is not the case in the video where cyclists keep their line but are told to be careful and watch out for car doors opening.
That’s just not going to work - if a bike is travelling at 20Km/h, it’s going to cover nearly six metres in one second. If a car door suddenly opens, which may take a second, there’s no way they can react in time.

It’s the drivers who are being told to watch out for cyclists and not open their doors until they are sure the coast is clear.
The whole video is aimed at car drivers not cyclists.

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I see that now. I should have read the text!

It’s just that in the second half of the video - the cyclists actions are not considered safe for the cyclist and they should move out further from any parked cars.
I suppose if they showed this, it would make the video too complicated for car drivers to understand and perhaps not get the car door message across.

I think this type of video is more effective (albeit in this case, for motorbikes, and at junctions).
I saw this on TV as a child and still to this day remember its message when at road junctions before I pull out in a car:

A video of a cyclist getting car-doored may get the message across better than the Neuchatel video.

These days, kids will think it’s just a prank on TikTok, when the cyclist flies over the handlebar after clipping a car door.

Always reminds me of this

(sorry for the OT)

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