R
Resound
Guest
I had a thought tonight as I was riding home along Dynon Road. A truck went
past and I sort of flinched a little although he wasn't that close (I think
the rain makes them a bit more intimidating). It occured to me that there
have been a few incidents over the past year of cyclists being killed by a
truck going in the same direction. This implies that they were hit from
behind or that the truck pulled into them after passing. It also occured to
me that although trucks pretty much invariably give me plenty of room as the
front of the truck goes by, it gets awfully tight as the back of the truck
goes by. It's not an absolute length thing though, it seems to be a
percentage of truck length. The back wheels of single trailers get close,
but not the back wheels of the first trailer on a B-double. The back wheels
of the SECOND trailer on a B-double often get a bit scary though.
So...hypothesis:
Truck drivers, like motorists, don't really realise how fast a reasonably
fit cyclist travels on flat ground.
Truck drivers therefore go around cyclists in the same way that they would a
stationary object. Cars probably do as well, but they're short enough that
it doesn't matter as much.
Therefore a truck going past a cyclist while the truck's travelling at
55-60kph and the cyclist is travelling at 30-35kph is passing at less than
half the relative speed that they think they are.
Ergo, they pull back over when they're only halfway past. If they get close
to the gutter, the cyclist winds up in the gutter or under the back wheels.
So...does this tally with what other people have experienced?
past and I sort of flinched a little although he wasn't that close (I think
the rain makes them a bit more intimidating). It occured to me that there
have been a few incidents over the past year of cyclists being killed by a
truck going in the same direction. This implies that they were hit from
behind or that the truck pulled into them after passing. It also occured to
me that although trucks pretty much invariably give me plenty of room as the
front of the truck goes by, it gets awfully tight as the back of the truck
goes by. It's not an absolute length thing though, it seems to be a
percentage of truck length. The back wheels of single trailers get close,
but not the back wheels of the first trailer on a B-double. The back wheels
of the SECOND trailer on a B-double often get a bit scary though.
So...hypothesis:
Truck drivers, like motorists, don't really realise how fast a reasonably
fit cyclist travels on flat ground.
Truck drivers therefore go around cyclists in the same way that they would a
stationary object. Cars probably do as well, but they're short enough that
it doesn't matter as much.
Therefore a truck going past a cyclist while the truck's travelling at
55-60kph and the cyclist is travelling at 30-35kph is passing at less than
half the relative speed that they think they are.
Ergo, they pull back over when they're only halfway past. If they get close
to the gutter, the cyclist winds up in the gutter or under the back wheels.
So...does this tally with what other people have experienced?