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@raysmuckles
Interesting thread this - there are some parallels here to my day job in the oil industry. Over the years the industry has had an appauling safety record and have tried many different ways to raise awareness and improve the safety culture on sites.
Large construction firms have discovered that telling people what to do is simply not effective. If you tell someone that they have to wear a helmet - most will, but some will take the decision not to because they have been told to. Instead safety training, whilst still teaching staff how to be safe, now concentrates on informing people of the implications of not being safe.
Its a far harder hitting message to tell someone what could happen to their friends, collegues or family if they do not behave in a safe way. This should be underpinned by cultural change - positive reinforcement.
Its two fold really - in the case of the HGV driver, the behavior needs to be changed by educating them as to the concequences of their actions. The cyclist needs to be educated as to the consequences of getting into that road position. We need to influence the organisations that employ the drivers into a positive safety culture. What is causing the driver to behave in an unsafe manner in these circumstances? Is it lack of mirrors and sensors? Time pressures? The wrong vehicle for the situation? Organisations need to accept that they have responsibility for behaviors that are unsafe and need to take action to allow people to act in a safe manner and look out for one another.
This is not a "HGV drivers are wankers who kill cyclists" problem - its an issue that needs to be addressed positively from both sides.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with letting a fellow cyclist know their behavior is unsafe. If more people understood the impact of their actions - 'dont get down the inside of that truck mate, you need to be around to teach your little one to ride!' is a perfectly valid message. Poster campaigns are effective - or even a business card to hand to another rider? The A1 roadworks have an effective poster campaign - instead of telling you to slow down, they ask you to take care because someones loved ones work here.
Dont ride by and let someone be unsafe... I wish that behavioral safety was part of the test for every driver. When I worked with BP, a driving safely course was part of the site safety training for everyone - they recognised that people wouldnt be making the journey to the site if it wasnt for them and wanted them to act safely and be safe at all times. This extended to a ban on mobile phones (including hands free kits) whilst driving on company business, no call was more important than driving and everyone connected with the project knew that a call would not be answered if the person was driving. This then became normal behavior and expectations were reset as a result. Acting safely is more than being told to - it has to be facilitated and seen to be normal behavior for all no matter what.
More here if you are interested... http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/introduction.htm
Sorry for the length of the post - but it is something that I believe in.