Very nasty accident at the bottom end of kentish down road where it splits to go to camden, last night 5.30ish. All taped off, one very crushed bike and clothes strewn along the road for 20-30m and a truck parked on the road a further 10m down. Hope the person got out alive, but seriously doubt it. :(

Looks like the person was undertaking the truck at the intersection. Please, don't undertake trucks!!!

dear god. sounds like somin awful.
I always repeat to people, DON'T MESS WITH WITH TRUCKS.
Always stay behind them or well infront of them, at no time undertake or overtake unless stationary.
Simple rules that could save your life.

oh lordy. this is shit news. hopes go out

Fuck, that sounds horrible.

But be fair, if it's the junction I think you mean it could just have easily been the lorry overtaking the cyclist and turning left across them.

i saw the road taped off but didnt get a good enough look down there to see. the junction is a bit dodgy, especially with all the random barriers and building stuff that just seems to be thrown over the road. fingers crossed for the cyclist

can't seem to see anything on interweb. but the fact there were about 5 police cars, firetrucks and special accident units; it doesn't look promising :(

true they could've turned on them but the traffic is slow through there with roadworks. I always go around the outside and scares me when people try to race me by undertaking along kentish town road, shudder!!

I know what you mean. My GF takes that road every day, as do I, and I have been telling her for years now to get on the outside, to ride down the middle of the road on the broken white line, but she says she feels safer on the left hand side. I'm getting her that road craft book because I don't think that she likes hearing it from me. She is very aware about the lorry situation generally though and what can happen, it's not such an issue the way that we ride down that road in particular, we miss the big junction out on the way back.

Yes and even if stationary take care. This morning I chose to wait behind a white van that was behind a nasty truck waiting to go through the Queenstown Road roundabout but 2 cyclists undertook both vehicles they went ok but obviously as they couldn't seen what was happening on the roundabout they couldn't know when the truck was going to turn (and where it was going).
Let them see you.

and yesterday I saw a female cyclist almost taken out at the Clapham Common/Cedars Road junction as she was too important to wait at the traffic lights.

Oh sorry, didn't realise there's roadworks there at the minute... That does make it a lot less likely they were squished from behind.

Qft!

Dont
Fuck
With
Truck

word!

very sad.

how many more before our so called leaders do something ?

I'm sure they see it as a convenient assistance to stave off the problem of overpopulation.

ok, I'm being flippant and some poor bugger might have died, (I hope they're ok) but sometimes I really wonder if anyone does actually care about these deaths?

How long before cyclists get the message:

Don't undertake. Period.

Is there such a thing as cycling school ? teach people how to ride safe

Actually you can undertake if there is pavement space and you know how to mount a curb properly the real killer is undertaking by the railings = no way out

There was a Cycling Proficiency scheme when I were a lad. Got a badge and everything. Dunno if ot's still running.

Not convinced. I think there are cases when undertaking is fine. What's the official line (e.g. Highway Code). Not that I think the Highway Code has got everything right, just wanted to know what the law is.

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3529

I would be highly surprised if these folks really knew how to ride safe in traffic

There is alot more to it than wearing an orange anorak and stopping at the traffic lights

If you haven't already heard, there is free 1-1 cycling training offered in London paid by TfL.

The training is 2 hour long. The trainer will normally follow you on your commute route and correct you as you go along and explain all the joys of positioning. You will learn about filtering, how to deal with roundabouts, signalling, long-vehicles and all the usual dangers.

Check the borough contacts on this page. Advertise this to your colleagues, friends etc.. who have decided to join the busy roads of London.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/4690.aspx

and read Cyclecraft by John Franklin

I don't think the trainer could keep up with me, I go like a mad ferret down the Old Kent Road.

I'm joking...

The training is 2 hour long. The trainer will normally follow you on your commute route and correct you as you go along and explain all the joys of positioning. You will learn about filtering, how to deal with roundabouts, signalling, long-vehicles and all the usual dangers.

that would be so much fun to do except signalling I don't do signals I don't like taking my hands off the bars I do little faux wobbles instead

Weird statement....

you can race with Mashton once he's become a trainer ;) you might not get a gold star though....

I was reading that bloke from the Guardian the communist geezer he went on one of those training rides and for the first time in thirty years he got taught not to hug the curb I could not believe what I was reading this was the geezer telling us lot how to do it they are probably pretty good those training rides but I reckon most couriers or ex-couriers would tell you the way to do it proper safe which ain't always the legal way hence the comment about the anoraks capice

^^This is what you asked. We provided replies. But you already knew all the answers.
There is another thread on cycling training if you want to add your comments.

yeah not appropriate here not when someone got hurt like that I'll button it

Do we know for a fact, though that this was caused by someone undertaking a lorry. If this is the case then this is a very sad, yet completely avoidable accident. The only time I would ever undertake a lorry is when it is stopped at a very red light and nowhere near any side turning. Seriously. Don't fucking do it!

[COLOR=#5493b4]http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2008/...062608_15.html[/COLOR]

A CYCLIST was rushed to hospital yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) with injuries to her legs after colliding with a lorry.
The woman in her 40s hit a timber lorry in Royal College Street, Camden Town.
Clothes and bicycle parts could be seen strewn across the street behind police cordons. A paramedic team arrived by helicopter and took the cyclist to Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel by ambulance.
A police spokesman said the woman was in a “serious” condition last night.
Kingsley Okolie, 22, a shop assistant at nearby Cash Converters, said: “Her legs were just shattered. I wanted her to lie down but she just sat bolt upright in shock. All of a sudden she just lay down and all her muscles were twitching.”
Mr Okolie looked on as paramedics carried out two resuscitation attempts.
He said since road works started a few months ago he had seen a number of “near misses”.
The works are intended to make the road safer according to Camden Cycling Campaign member, John Chamberlain, who lives in Highgate Road, in Dartmouth Park.
“Obviously we don’t know what happened but these junctions are notorious for these types of accidents where cyclists are proceeding straight on and lorries are turning left,” he said.
“It again illustrates the vulnerability of cyclists particularly to heavy goods vehicles. Our thoughts are with the victim and her family.”