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@Glisten
Hi, I was one of the few people in the area at the time. It was busy with motorists as always but actually a quiet moment for the Junction when it happened. I didn't see what happened and so cannot be a witness but I did hear it happening. The emergency services deserve a special mention. The police were here literally in less than 20 secs and an ambulance in 45 seconds. The lights had just changed from red to green and the lorry was the first vehicle in a queue of traffic. I'm not sure where Dan was when the lights were red, either on the inside of the truck or in the middle going straight on. It is a total tragedy and I'm sorry for all his family and friends, sincerely. It's a lovely memorial.
However, I'm also sorry for the driver of the truck. It must be appauling to have to endure being involved in something like this. Everyone seems to blame the driver but the truth is there's no way to know how responsible for the accident the driver was. I'm not saying the cyclist in this incident was responsible either because I was there and I don't know. By far the group of road users I see breaking the highway code and in a league to themselves are cyclists. How many cyclists fail to wear helmets? Jump red lights? As a pedestrian walking along Kingsland Road the number of times a cyclist has jumped a light and is trying to get past me whilst I'm crossing. Cyclists in the middle of the road not wearing anything reflective yelling at you to get out of the road! This week I've paid special attention to the lousy cycling going on and have observed a bike weaving through stationay traffic, a bike at a snails pace going past a bus stop and nearly being hit by a bus, several red light jumpers, one of whom had a small child attached to their back and was flying down the road.
May I suggest cyclists are made to sit a test just like any other road user? How much of learning to drive a vehicle involves increasing awareness of the danger of blind spots and respecting the highway code?
Again, thoughts go out to you.