Reply to comment

I've not been reading CNJ as regularly at present since I'm no longer leaving Euston by train as much, and thus my victualling trip to Arkay Stores on Eversholt Street is less frequent (there is everything you might need to buy for your trip (and a few more less conventional options) within minutes of the station and a real plus for promoting local shops, and the Brill Place route to St Pancras for walking & cycling away from the noise and pollution on Euston Road)

Yesterday I almost got run down by an HGV in Coleshill - en route to the NEC. As I rode along the main route it was clear that the driver of the articulated truck at the turning on my right was not looking to his left and about to start off. I shouted, and those who know me can testify that when I shout I put many RSM's to shame, but the driver continued to pull out. I was fortunately able to divert into a junction on the left side and aim to ride up onto the footway, to avoid being hit, and continuing with staccato shouts of Oi and possibly less polite words. Eventually he either heard or saw me in his mirrors and stopped, and I gave vent to my opinion on his driving.

Now normally I see that most professional drivers drive with their window slightly open, for a very good reason, it can provide that extra safety system of hearing, which alerts you to the tyre noise of a car in your blind spot as you filter in to the motorway, or a shout from a non motorised user when something dangerous might happen. I look in horror at so many cyclists wearing earpieces in both ears - in one ear is bad enough as the ear's like the eyes use the stereo effect to assess where noise is coming from. In too many inquests we learn that the cyclist or pedestrian was wearing earphones and oblivious to the hazards around them, or the car driver with sound system blasting away and windows closed fails to notice the blue lights and sirens trying to get them to pull over.

As a second point I will not wear any shaded glasses, and otherwise impair the operation of the most valuable safety device I have - my eyes. I saw the hazard of a truck likely to pull out on me and then I saw that the driver was not looking in my direction as he started to move. I fear that too many road users fail to make the only contact they have with other road users eye contact. Eyes not only give you timeous information of a developing hazard, but they also provide a brilliant channel of communication. This is refined to a great art by the London pedestrian, who with a withering stare can stop motorised traffic when they have decided that they will cross the road, and the trick her is to look hard into the driver's eyes, as there is this well developed feedback response that their eyes send back to you. It works both through the windscreen AND through the external mirrors. You see those eyes and that they are looking at you and this makes a powerful means to manage the risk when moving around large and potentially dangerous vehicles. It helps also to 'be a real human' and thus as Steven Norris famously quipped "I don't want to dress up like a spaceman to ride my bike"

Finally I'd note the results of a 5000 cyclist study undertaken in Oxfordshire which lead to a safety campaign focussing on the ability of cyclists to perform the move known to motorcyclists as 'the lifesaver' That is the ability to turn your head and look directly back at the road user behind, and confirm that they in turn are looking at you (if not than you do something about being seen or getting out the way very fast). For this ears in working order play a vital role as noted, but the OxCam study showed an interesting difference between the sexes, almost the 'Lot's Wife' effect. Female cyclists reported that they found the lifesaver look difficult to perform, and it was reflected in a higher incidence of events, in which the lack of rearward observation was a causal factor. Male cyclists on the other hand tended to ride into things in front of them. No one has really got to grips with this detail , but one theory I'd put forward is that many women are riding bikes built to suit the male physique - longer arms relative to torso etc, and are thus less able to comfortably turn their head without also turning the handlebar. A case perhaps of getting the right set up for the bikes you ride, rather than the cheapest model that just about fits.

It is very worrying to see the 'safety' reactions "Wear a helmet"- Damn all used under the wheels of a truck. "Wear something bright" - likewise useless if the other road user isn't looking or listening. So little of "Do something positive" like making eye contact and placing yourself in the right position on the carriageway.