Notice anything? The bike lane and bike boxes at junctions fill the same section of road as a HGV’s blind spots. If you go into the cycle lane or cycle box, a truck driver won’t be able to see you.
Cyclists lured into HGV blind spots by bike boxes and bike lanes?
For years cyclists have been warned about the dangers of HGV blind spots; that area around the cab of the vehicle where the drive can’t see you.
But these images have emerged in UK cycle safety circles in the last few days. And they beg and interesting question; is cycling infrastructure luring us in HGV blind spots?
The image on the left is of a HGV with a mat at the front and to the side covering the blind spot area for the driver sitting high up in the cab.
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If you’re on a bike in that area around HGVs, the driver can’t see you.
The second image is of a truck stopped at a junction, with a cycle lane down its inside and an advance stop line – or bike box, as they are known - in front of it.
The ‘bike box’ has been marked out for cyclists so they can get away from junctions more safely.
What’s striking about the two images side by side is that the entire blind zone marked in the image on the left is in the designated area set out for cyclists in the other image.
We were struck by this so we decided to ask the experts their view. We contacted the Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 group and also Cyclist.ie, the cycling advocacy network in Ireland.
Phil Skelton at Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 said there were so many blind spots on a HGV it was more accurate to call them ‘blind zones’.
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“When you look at truck blind zones; it can be dangerous to cycle up the inside of a HGV to reach the advanced stop line even in a cycle lane,” he said.
“Sometimes I believe a bicycle rider can be lured along this infrastructure and end up in a blind zone which can have some dire consequences.
“Purely from an infrastructure point of view; I believe that in areas where cyclists and HGVs share the road there should be a specific advanced stop line.
“It should be used for when a HGV is the first vehicle to reach an advanced stop box.
“This should take the truck's frontal blind zone into account so that cyclists waiting in this cyclist safety provision can be assured that the truck driver can see them there.”
Skelton added it was crucial additional mirrors and sensors were used on trucks to minimise the blind zone. He believe most truck drivers were very conscious of cyclists and their vehicles’ blind zone. But it was important that message was constantly repeated.
“For a bicycle rider too it's important to think safety first,” Skelton said.
“And it is probably best practice to stay behind any vehicle that has blind zones to avoid any unintended consequences.”
Mike McKillen of Cyclist.ie said the bike boxes – advance stop lines, to give them their proper name – were not marked properly at many junctions in Ireland. That shortcoming was a safety risk.
But also a major concern for cycle safety was the fact that the bike boxes in Ireland were less than 4 metres deep.
“A 4-metre depth puts the riders well in front of any HGV provided that the driver doesn't invade the box,” he said, adding most drivers invade bike boxes.
“We have raised this invasion issue with Garda National Traffic Bureau at meetings but I have not noticed any enforcement as yet.”
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