Lorry Blind Spots – Exchanging Places

Exchanging places is a scheme run by The Cycle Task Force of the Met. A fantastic scheme that gets cyclists into HGV’s and shows them the blind spots! It’s a real eye opener, I was shocked when I first when in and I throughly recommend everyone to do it when they get the opportunity.

Some very wise words where said in the video and I don’t think they where highlighted enough.

You know you’re safe because you’ve made eye contact and he has seen you

Whilst it’s not strictly true that eye contact makes you safe, I always think it’s a good idea to do. A. your body movement to look behind should be eye catching to the driver. B. If you can see the driver then you know you are not in his blind spot!

Avoid at all costs going up the side of a HGV at lights

As the driver went on, he mentioned on approach to the lights as well. This is important, when filtering you need to be careful and doing so when there is no escape route or time for you to get in front then it can be a recipe for disaster. Remember that getting to the front should not be your goal when approaching red lights, keeping safe and visible to other road users should be. And that means not filtering up the side of HGV’s

The more room a lorry has left you, the more likely it is going to turn left. The more tempting it looks, the more dangerous it is.

A fantastic comment that could easily be missed. Reading the road is a very valuable tool, and seeing that space on the side of a vehicle of such a size being so big should be a big indicator that it is going to attempt to turn at the junction. Remember we must engage our brains whilst cycling and try to read every situation as we approach it. If the possibilities of a vehicle turning left are high, then stay back, stay safe!

As the pair summarise, it’s team work that we need. Both parties need to be a bit clearer with what they are doing and don’t be so brash to pass each other when approaching a junction.


2 thoughts on “Lorry Blind Spots – Exchanging Places

  1. What we should be aiming for… http://youtu.be/FpXDO0NV9Ms Remove the danger and cyclists don’t have to worry about blind spots at all, lorry drivers won’t be so stressed either, and good infra of course also protects you from all other sorts of dozy drivers.

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