Tag: lorry

January 23rd – Heading into Birmingham on a dull, misty and early morning, I hit a queue of traffic along Blake Street which was unusual, Rounding the bend, I saw an articulated lorry with the top of it’s trailer crudely torn off – the effect of driving it under the low bridge now behind it.

The vehicle but have been going at a fair speed as the entire of the trailer’s roof was destroyed, and the HGV near clear of the railway over bridge.

There really is no excuse for this, and it’s fortunate nobody was injured. Any driver has to know the height of their rig and where the acceptable routes are. Trying to think of anything to mitigate this guy’s position I came up blank.

Perhaps the bridge should have been wearing more hi-vis…

This king of the road’s idiocy mate for a touch and go, very uncomfortable commute for me and anyone else who was on the Cross City Line. What’s so maddening is this is a fairly regular occurrence here.

How hard is it to read a warning sign?

June 10th – Sights you don’t see everyday. Late afternoon, I’d nipped down into Wednesbury on an errand, and on the Darlaston Road at Kings Hill, the road was closed off by Police. There was a supermarkey delivery lorry lying on it’s side, and it looked quite bad. It turns out another vehicle was involved, but thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt.

That’s what you call a bad day at work.

A sobering thing. Stay safe out there, folks.

June 10th – Waiting in the queue at the Arboretum Junction in Walsall this morning, I was pleased to note that this Ricketts Ltd. tipper wagon was kitted out with safety features – a reversing safety camera, cyclist warning notice. He seemed to have extensive mirrors too, but I couldn’t get them in shot.

The wagon was driven professionally and courteously, and I couldn’t fault it – it was nice to see. More and more tipper trucks seem to have these safety features – shame they aren’t on some bigger HGVs.

Well done, H. D. Ricketts – very considerate.

March 17th – Since I noticed the caution sticker on the back of the truck last Friday, I’ve been studying other such vehicles for similar safety features. Coming home tonight, I was surprised by this one: on the back of a very long, articulated fuel tanker, it warns of the wide turning circle and the danger of being on the left of the lorry as it turns. It also gives the equally sound advice about mirrors. Both these points are excellent.

Interestingly, it appears to be warning car drivers, not specifically cyclists. I find that a bit odd. Like the one on Friday, it’s also a wee bit too small to read from any distance or in a hurry. 

Nice to see, though. Well played, ESSO, well played.

March 26th – Not having the best of luck, lately. There I was, bang on time to catch my train, and this genius got his wagon wedged under Blake Street bridge, disrupting Cross City Line gains, and making me late for work. Lorries are always striking this bridge and the one in Station Road, Erdington. It’s a pain.

I do hope nobody was hurt, and that the cost of this is passed on to the person responsible.

After I tweeted this, a passing journalist asked me to mail the image to them – I suggested they could have it for a £10 donation to MacMillan or St. Giles. Oddly, they went quiet after that. It was worth a try…

January 31st – Someone asserted yesterday that I should be glad of increased cycling facilities in the UK. I am, and I’m not. Here’s why.

On the Coventry Road, Birmingham, near the St. Andrews ground, there are lights to control a ‘y’ junction. Prior to the junction, there is a green tarmac filter lane leading to an advance stop line (ASL). The idea is that cyclists use the green lane up the inside of the traffic to access the green ASL box to place themselves safely at the head of the queue. This rarely works in practice, and to me, is actively encouraging dangerous cycling behaviour.

If I were to take the lane up the side of the traffic, as the skip lorry is occupying the ASL, I’d likely stop next to him. Right in his blind spot. Cyclists tend to be quicker off the mark at lights than lorries and chances are we’d interact at the pinch point a few yards ahead. If the lorry goes down left fork here (which he did, without indicating the intention), he would not see the cyclist and possibly lead to the cyclist being crushed at the pinch point between the railings and the lorry.

This road position kills the vast majority of adult cyclists mortally injured on the roads in the UK. It’s bloody stupid to get up the inside left of a line of traffic, as drivers don’t expect it and often, physically can’t see you. Between the ‘safety’ railings and the lorry wheels, you’re toast. Or rather, puree.

This cycling ‘facility’ encourages dangerous road positioning, and in my view, makes this junction more dangerous to the inexperienced cyclist.

I’ll celebrate cycling facilities when they’re safe, and designed properly. Not ill-thought out lip service like this.

October 15th – One of the things about riding a bike is that you get to study vehicles in a way that most folk don’t. I’ve spent large amounts of time behind cars, wondering how the  bodywork was fitted together, of behind weird and wonderful lorries, working out just what everything on them does. It was while I was waiting in the queue at the Shire Oak junction today that I noticed this interesting feature on a tipper lorry. Tucked in the back, below the main body, is a camera and light, clearly for reversing purposes. It must be a fairly common feature, but I’d not noticed one before – presumably, it’s monitored by the driver. Only snag is, there’s no automatic lens cleaning, and it must get pretty mucky under there. Wonder if the driver was munching on a Yorkie and watching me whilst he waited?