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I meant to say, the PDF is the one to use for print-outs.

CycleSafeLondon.com has the JPG of the flyer for download.

Much better to use the PDF, which can be downloaded from here and reuploaded to CycleSafeLondon.com

http://thebikeshow.net/images/lorry_leafletA5X2.pdf

Here is the leaflet/flyer/whatever, beautifully designed by pipwish. the original text was largely drawn from Bill's posts on MT, with some edits for clarity by wools and me:

http://thebikeshow.net/images/lorry_leafletA5X2.pdf
(best for printing)

Anyone with access to a xerox print off from the PDF and slice in two for two A5 size sheets. I'll print a bundle too.

Below is the jpg so you can see what it looks like.

Would be good to put a few things up at www.cyclesafelondon.com, even if just basics like some links to MovingTarget coverage of the issue, addresses of people to write to.

The more people that can come along to talk to participants at CM the better. the leaflet is really just the first step, the best way to get the message out is by talking.

Nice work everyone, let's just hope it's not too damp at CM tomorrow. It'll be my first CM in years, not always having seen eye-to-eye with the thing but tomorrow it's going to feel good.

http://thebikeshow.net/images/lorry_leaflet.jpg

who is the admin for cyclesafelondon.com ?
If this note is going out tomorrow at CM, then maybe a good idea to put one or two things up there.

Jack

Ok i am going to be contreversial here and say that calling for a ban on HGV's of any sort is bull, and is probably going to result in any sort of campaign looking as though it is coming from pipe dreamers rather than realists. HGV's are the life blood of retail London.

Lorries dont kill people, badly trained driivers do, same as in a car, on a motorbike or on a bicycle, whats needed is better road education

As a former goods driver, i can tell you that any sort of spoke cadr saying Lorries Kill is going to do a lot more worse than good, it will antagonise the drivers more than anything else.

Half the problem with road safety campaigns is they always appear to come from the lunatic fringe of cyclists to the general public, and as such get dismissed as irelevant or to far fetched, and calling for a ban on HGV's is the same shit.

I can see your point. The 'ask' in this text is essentially the same as what the LBMA asked for, starting in 2004. I for one couldn't tell you if these are the top 4 priorities for safer lorry-cyclist interaction. I have to defer to Bill on this as he's the cyclist with the most knowledge on this issue that I know.

As to the HGV ban, I realise that sometimes asking for something too much risks being unrealistic, but I think Bill is right that it's a good strategy to aim high and then compromise. I really don't think it's too much to consider. There are other cities that don't allow 16 wheelers to come hammering through the city centre. A big ask also gets more media attention, if that's a consideration.

I remember when Greenpeace were campaigning for a £25 congestion charge for SUVs. 'They've got no chance', I thought to myself. Had it not been for Ken's latter day sleazing, then it could have happened.

My point is this. What seems like a big ask now, is not necessarily so crazy later. Remember after Dunblane, they went and banned handguns. They'd never have considered it before. I think some people on this forum and elsewhere - and i count myself among them - think that this week something of a Dunbane moment in relation to lorries on London streets. A moment when things change, a window of opportunity.

Maybe that's too much to hope for, but then again, there are a lot of people who have a desire to get up and do something in response to these deaths.

Is there any way to settle this HGV ban question on the forum?

As to the Lorries Kill message, pipwish cleverly recast it as

Lorries Killing Cyclists

which is a statement of fact, rather than a slightly more scaremongering 'Lorries Kill Cyclists'. It's a subtle change I know, but I think a good one.

Thanks to pipwish & wools here is a slightly revised text. pipwish has done a great two-column layout with a very prominent and striking headline.

---

**Lorries Killing Cyclists **

In the last week two London cyclists were killed in collisions with lorries and another was seriously injured. A London Road Safety Unit study of London cyclist fatalities between 1999 and 2002 concluded that, of the 49 collisions with lorries, more than half were the result of a left turn by the lorry.

The design of many of London’s cycle lanes and advance stop lines (green boxes at traffic lights) lure cyclists into the most dangerous position at junctions: slightly in front of and to the left of lorries. At the two junctions where cyclists were recently killed by left-turning lorries (Upper Thames Street junction with Queen Street Place, and Camley Street junction with Goods Way) there are advance stop lines, both with feeder cycle lanes from the left.

What is needed:

1. A ban on very large lorries (HGVs) from the current Congestion Charge zone during Congestion Charge hours.
   
2. Compulsory installation of the latest ‘blind spot’ mirrors and more training for drivers on how to use them.
   
3. Removal of dangerous cycle lanes.
   
4. Tougher punishments for drivers and lorry companies convicted of negligent driving.
   
   

To make this happen, we need to tell the government officials and the lorry companies about the problem and demand that they take action.

Write to:

• Your MP
  
• Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
  
• Your representative on the London Assembly
  
• Your local councillors
  
• The Secretary of State for Transport
  
• David Brown, Managing Director, Surface Transport, Transport for London
  
• Roger King, Chief Executive, Road Haulage Association
  
  

Find out who your elected representatives are and how to write to them by visiting www.WriteToThem.com

Changing laws, removing dangerous cycle lanes, fitting better mirrors and training lorry drivers will take time. In the short term it is possible to take action when riding to minimise, if not eliminate, the risk of conflict with a lorry.

• Be aware of where they are. This means keeping an eye on the road behind you.

• Avoid crossing their path, or potential path. If you are behind them, this means staying behind the rear axle when they are moving. If you are in front, this means keeping an eye on them to make sure that if they overtake they are giving you enough room.

• The place you definitely don’t want to be at any time is alongside, or slightly in front of, a lorry’s front wheels. Especially at junctions. This is because lorry drivers who have killed cyclists by left-turns, even if they signal, often fail to look in their left-hand mirrors to check for cyclists.

• Passing lorries and other long vehicles on the inside (left side) increases the risk of not being seen.

www.cyclesafelondon.com - 26 September 2008

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I can do it now.

Fantastic!

I favour Bill's LORRIES KILL CYCLISTS as a pretty direct and accurate headline. The text is deliberately sensible & non-confrontational so I think it's OK to have a blunt headline to draw people in.

I don't know if it's possible to fit all the text on one side of the flyer leaving the other side (the side that will be visible when it's folded in half) free for a graphic.

I think a massive lorry graphic & a cyclist graphic would work, with LORRIES KILL CYCLISTS as the text.

But I'm no designer....

Although an occasional visitor to the forum, I've never posted anything. Some of you may know me as I present The Bike Show on ResonanceFM, a radio progamme about...erm...cycling.

Anyway, I've been over at the MT site talking about putting together a very simple note to give out at tomorrow's CM and to fix to as many bikes in London as possible. It's a more conventional approach than the spokecard, but I think they can work together.

Below is the current draft text, largely cribbed from Bill's writings on MT on the issue. I'd be grateful for:

1. Suggestions on how to make it better.
   
2. Confirmation if there's going to be a website devoted to this, and the URL.
   
3. A volunteer to do layout - simple, easy-to-read, nothing fancy. I think A5 with a fold/staple option would be the simplest format.
   
4. People who'd be willing to print / help dish them out.
   
   

As I'm aiming for CM as the start of this (and that's in less than 24 hours!) time is of the essence.

I sense a lot of motivation to do something on this and I know there are a lot of different courses of action. No one course ought to preclude others, rather they will reinforce eacother.

Chapeau!

Jack

---

Bicycles and Lorries

In the last week two London cyclists were killed as the result of collisions with lorries, and another was seriously injured. Unofficial figures collected by the London Cycling Campaign suggest that 10 cyclists have died so far this year in London as the result of collisions with lorries. A London Road Safety Unit study of London cyclist fatalities between 1999 & 2002 concluded that of the 49 collisions with lorries, more than half were the result of a left turn by the lorry.

The design of many of London's cycle lanes and advance stop lines (green boxes at traffic lights) lure cyclists into the most dangerous position at junctions: slightly in front of and to the left of lorries. At the two junctions where cyclists were recently killed by a left-turning lorries, Upper Thames Street junction with Queen Street Place, and Camley Street junction with Goods Way, there are advance stop lines, both with feeder cycle lanes from the left.

1. A ban on very large lorries (HGVs) from the current Congestion Charge zone during Congestion Charge hours.
   
2. Compulsory installation of ‘blind spot’ mirrors and more driver training on how to use them.
   
3. Removal of dangerous cycle lanes.
   
4. Tougher punishments for drivers and lorry companies convicted of negligent driving.
   
   

To make this happen, we need to tell the government officials responsible about the problem and demand that they take action. Write to:

• Your MP
  
• Your representative on the London Assembly
  
• Your local councillors
  
• Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
  
• The Secretary of State for Transport
  
• David Brown, Managing Director, Surface Transport, Transport for London
  
• Roger King, Chief Executive, Road Haulage Association
  
  

A very good way to find out who your elected representatives are and to write to them is via the non-profit website www.WriteToThem.com

Changing laws, removing dangerous cycle lanes, fitting better mirrors and training lorry drivers will take time. In the short term it is possible to take action to minimise, if not eliminate, the risk of conflict with a lorry. To do this, you need first of all to be aware of where they are, which means keeping an eye, or two if possible, on the road behind you. Second, having located them on the road, you need avoid crossing their path, or potential path. This means staying behind the rear axle when they are moving, if you are behind them, and keeping an eye on them when they are behind you, to make sure that if they over-take that they are giving you enough room.

The place you definitely don’t want to be is alongside, or slightly in front of, their front wheels at any time, but especially at junctions. This is because lorry drivers who have killed cyclists by left-turns, even if they signal, often fail to look in their left-hand mirrors to check for cyclists. Passing lorries and other long vehicles on the inside (left side) increases the risk of not being seen.

---