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yes, the story has been edited.
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According to the Evening Standard, a male rider in his 30s was hit by "another vehicle" and suffered life-threatening injuries. Victim was airlifted to hostpital.
Get well soon, poor man!
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The Evening Standard has an update on the investigations. Main pointes are:
it was a Crossrail lorry
driver was on a hands- free phone
two of the lorry's three side sensors were not working
Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute after reviewing CCTV evidence. It concluded that driver did not fail the standard of being a “competent motorist”.
City of London coroner Paul Matthews recorded a verdict of accidental death.
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"The man collided with the truck", reports the linked website. I'd presume cause and effect were rather the other way round.
Here's another citation: https://twitter.com/Hackneycyclist/status/461489974853263360/photo/1
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More horrifying details.
A cyclist was trapped beneath the back wheels of a six-tonne skip truck for more than an hour after a rush-hour crash which caused gridlock on a busy commuter road.
Get well soon, unknown rider!
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Charlie, does this pic show the layout of the junction at the time of Verena's death? Did the coroner have the left light for cyclists in mind with regard of her alleged RLJ? That would be really unsettling. As others have pointed out with impressive Youtube videos, this design really lures cyclists into death zones....
On the other hand, no matter what the lights were showing, this tragedy reinforced the point of never, ever riding to the left of a lorry.
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yes, that's precisely what I mean
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given HGV's large blind spots, the driver probably would not have seen her anyway.
I'm wondering if this does rather sound like the lorry overtook and then left-hooked Verena. 17 meters plus the size of the advance stop box plus a few more meters in the roundabout is quite a long way....
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Inquest has been hold.
Actually, the facts presented in this article are confusing me. As far as I understand what happened, both the cyclist and the lorry were westbound on the A11. The cyclist wanted to go straight towards the City, while the lorry turned left onto the A12 towards the Blackwall tunnel.
Police says the cyclist probably jumped a red light before being hit by the left turning lorry. On the other hand, the article says the HGV was waiting 17 meters behind the ASL and was running at 13 mph.
If Verena really jumped the light, should she not have been way ahead of the lorry?
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Other than my other points what I am trying to say / ask is -
(1) Does everyone else on here really drive perfectly double and treble checking their inside before every single left turn?
(2) Even if they do (which I sincerely doubt) if someone like me who really does try to be a good driver and a very cycle-friendly driver forgets to check as well and often as they should then how easy must it be for someone busy, stressed, never cycled, hates cyclists to make the same mistake?
Acutally, checking your mirrors before turning left isn't good enough. Passenger cars do have blind spots as well. The only way of making sure there isn't any cyclist on your inside is a shoulder check.
I'm German and passed my driving test in Germany 20 years ago. The shoulder check before the left (on the continent: right) turn is one thing the driving instructors are really mental about until it really becomes ingrained. You instantly fail your driving test if you forget to do it.
I rarely drive in London, but yes, I think I do the shoulder check before I turn.
A related problem is that turning cars in the UK do not stop for pedestrians who are crossing the street. That's absolutely common in Germany (and, I think, other parts of contintental Europe). Since drivers do not have to stop here, they can turn at significantly higher speed (which also induces many to cut corners, which annoys me as a cyclist time and again.)
At the core of the whole issue is the lack of strict liability for motorists in the UK, I think. The knowlegde that you as the operator of a potentially deadly machine are liable for any damages you cause EVEN WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING WRONG INTENTIONALLY is a big incentive to drive more carefully, I think. Realistically, however, campaigning for strict liability in the UK is probably a lost cause.
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"Evidence" meaning the driver's testimony?
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Good work, Charlie!
I'm not sure if I rather than you was reprimanded by object, for posting the Londonist quote on the witness account?
I'm a bit puzzled about the inquest, though. Has the coroner already come to a conclusion or is the investigation still ongoing?
The police collision investigator had not seen all the cctv, especially the one showing the coach turning left from the 3rd lane on the right.
How is this possible??? My faith in the British legal system is diminishing by the minute.
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Londonist has some more details about the inquest here: http://londonist.com/2014/04/cyclist-and-pedestrian-die-in-separate-collisions.php
A witness, another cyclist, said ”I don’t think he was paying enough attention for two seconds of his journey and he really paid the consequence”.
Coroner Mary Hassell — who was extremely critical of cycle superhighways during inquests into the deaths of Brian Dorling and Philippine De Gerin-Ricard — summed up the incident by saying of Mr Golding “he just didn’t see [the coach]“. But she castigated Camden Council for a “lack of urgency” in improving the junction since his death in November 2013. The junction in Holborn has seen 77 collisions in the last 10 years, 29 involving cyclists and three which were fatal. -
The "Evening Standard" reports about the inquest, which was held today:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/coming-up-the-near-side-of-lorries-causes-many-deaths-coroners-warning-at-inquest-into-death-of-cyclist-dr-katharine-giles-9036906.htmlApparently, the cyclist rode into the blind spot of the lorry, which was indicating left and also had an audible warning running. No criminal charges against the driver.
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Here's another report about the inquest on Deep Lee's death:
Deep Lee Coroner’s Inquest – A chance missedDisclaimer: It's a guest post by Andrea Casalotti on my own blog.
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another report about the court ruling
seems to be mainly based on the Camden New Journal piece though.
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64 year old male cyclist hit by white Mercedes Vito van, suffered serious injuries, in hospital but stable condition.
Police is looking for witnesses.
Get well soon!
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Driving more slowly in such adverse conditions is obviously no option.
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A friend on Facebook who cycled along the crash site mentionend "bloodied hi-vis jacket in the middle of the road"....
Whatever mode of transport the victim was using, I hope it was not too serious. Get well soon!
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Evening Standard reports about this crash: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cyclist-rushed-to-hospital-after-rushhour-lorry-crash-half-a-mile-from-recent-death-8950874.html
Rider suffered leg injuries and was brought to hospital. What's left of his bike looks scary. Get well soon, mate!
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At 7.25am ish this morning, a male cyclist was lying in the middle of the street on Queensbridge Road at the junction with Pownall Road, while a lorry was standing in Pownall Road. The rider might have had a collusion with the lorry.
The cyclist was surrounded by several people, ambulances had not arrived yet.
Hope nothing serious happened and the rider recovers quickly.
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Here are some unsettling press reports about the inquest:
http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/08/ellie-carey-crash-death-cyclist-tried-to-wave-down-her-killer-3734300/
The lorry driver wasn't charged - according to the Evening Standard, he has died of cancer after the crash. RIP.
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The rider is the 60th cyclist who dying on London roads since 2010. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuEtgCUuVBDUdHZqbEZ1NVctVTBVeFRqTmNVbGZnbXc&usp=drive_web#gid=2