Action for the death of our cyclists - protest this friday 3rd - cps - 4pm

The point is, if any other road user was killed by an HGV things would be taken a lot more seriously. If you are going to take charge of a dangerous machine, you should be made to be responsible for your actions and aware of the damage you can cause. I dont think every driver is necessarily guilty. I dont necessarily want Eilidh's driver to end up in jail. All we want is for them to go to court and have a fair hearing. At the moment they are not even doing that. If it had been a pedestrian at the crossing what do you think would have happened? Sorry mate, didnt see you? And that would be that? So currently these drivers can get back in their truck, the same truck, and do the same thing the next day. And come up with the same excuse! Look, Eilidh and Anthony are proof that good, experienced cylists are still killed. They are not ditsy blonde girls who dont know how to ride. They were in front and driven over! Not a left turn. We just want equal protection of the law like any other road user. These are not accidents. An accident is something that cannot be avoided. These are failures, be that failure of government policy, truck companies, drivers, or cyclists. If a driver kills a cyclist he pays with the guilt/ emotional trauma, whatever. No fine, no points, no ban, no court case, no job loss, no need to prove his innocence. And they know this. So there is no recourse, no incentive by truck company or driver to make sure it doesnt happen. But the cyclist dies, the dependants are left without a parent, the family and friends suffer, the emergency teams suffer and we as tax payers all suffer. The law is supposed to protect the innocent and vulnerable. Compare the vulnerability of a cyclist sharing space with a fully loaded tipper truck with that of its driver. QED.
PS If you wait for a green light at Hyde Park corner you will be mashed. Maybe they have put in better cycle lanes since I did that commute a long time ago.

Well put, Ktee.

Riding a bike shouldn't be a dangerous thing. Roads (with the exceptions of motorways) were not built for cars, irrespective of what people behind the wheel will tell you. We all pay for them through our taxes (not the ficticious 'road tax'), we deserve consideration and due care. Lots of drivers cite people jumping red lights and running people over on pavements as though it's a justification for driving like pricks. It's not.