Cycling safety blind-spots

Published: 5 May, 2011

• I WAS dismayed to see letters purporting to relate to the recent death of cyclist Paula Jurek, under a “Let’s all make cycling safe” headline (April 28) were nothing of the sort. 

They used the tragic accident as an excuse to have an unhelpful off-topic whine about those old moral outrage favourites: cyclists on the pavement and jumping red lights. In very poor taste.

Paula Jurek was killed by being on the inside of a left-turning lorry. 

There are many constructive suggestions worthy of discussion, to prevent this happening again: Trixi mirrors, compulsory cycle-awareness training for HGV drivers and even more lorry-awareness training for cyclists (and finding new ways to reach new, inexperienced cyclists). 

Not to mention the urgency of sorting out the specific intersection.

However, an airing was given to the measures of the letter-writers M Pryor and Eileen Fry that would have had no effect in saving Ms Jurek’s life, and those of cyclists generally: displaying lights during the day, compulsory insurance and licensing.

Is there anything to suggest that Ms Jurek was not obeying the rules of the road?

Whether a cyclist should clad themselves in hi-vis is up to them but it makes no difference in a lorry’s blind-spot! Shall we cover the world in fluoro so that everything’s so uniformly conspicuous it’s invisible and absolve ourselves and each other of actually having to pay attention?

People who complain about others not obeying road rules at least ought to be versed in the rules themselves: displaying front and rear lights at night for cyclists is already a requirement in the Highway Code, as is not cycling on pavements. 

CLARE HILL, WC1