There was a particularly nasty fatality at Kings Cross today when a female cyclist was run over by an HGV lorry in front the Lighthouse Building. The body lay in the road for a long time while a crowd gathered round. The police arrived and eventually the body was removed from the incident tent straight into a funeral directors van. RIP
Its the third fatal accident in the past two years in the Kings Cross area and the second one at this particular junction. The previous fatal collision was between a car and a pedestrian at three in the morning. The other death was another crash between a cyclist and a lorry - that time a lorry turned left from Camden Road onto St Pancras Way killing a cyclist on its near side.
I've seen loads of vehicles accelerating through just turned red lights at that junction. You have to wait a few seconds after the lights turn green to be really safe.
I saw all the road closures at lunch time. Sorry to hear about this That junction/1way system is horrible for cyclists. I used to cycle into work at King's Cross and would always take a diversion down back streets to avoid that spot.
head popped under HGV apparently __ fuck up __ especially for the parents __ fucksake they should pedestrianise so much of London ...
I am very sorry for this woman, and for her family. Reading this has really made me reflect on how silly some of my 'anti-cyclist' posts (on other threads) have been. The relatively minor irritation that some of them cause me is nothing compared to an incident like this. Even though my pops at cyclists have been largely toungue-in-cheek, I guess it's not a laughing matter; given the risks they have to run, I can understand why some get annoyed with drivers. I shall try to be a bit more tolerant of cyclists, and understanding of their position, in future.
Undoubtedly the number of HGVs could be greatly reduced if the right measures were implement, but there will always be a need for some HGVs entering towns and cities. Certain types of load cannot be delivered by other means, really. Maybe there is an argument for HGVs only entering cities at night when there is minimal traffic.
Reported in Standard - how come I can't edit the URL title here? http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...s-as-cyclist-is-killed-outside-kings-cross.do
Terrible terrible. So sad. Thoughts go out to her friends and family. Every time I start to think about cycling in London, incidents like this put me off. Sorry, cycling fans, I'm sure you can come up with lots of statistics about its safety, etc, but it's just really offputting for me. I'll stick to public transport, even if it IS expensive and more time-consuming. Edit: I too would like to see restricted access hours for heavy goods vehicles in central London.
They should certainly be banned from rush hour traffic. Or there could be an HGV Congestion Charge priced accordingly to discourage rush hour driving. Plus the EPZ or whatever it is called.
Jeez...I know you might say that every accident in which somebody dies deserves the adjective, but reading this. Horrific.
wasn't there a Polish guy who got hit by an HGV earlier this year in Streatham? HGVs scare the fuck out of me, I'm very cautious of them...
It might be because of the congestion charge that so many lorries use the route along Euston Road & up Pentonville because it skirts the congestion zone. I don't think midday could be described as rush hour. HGVs are often delivering to building sites & therefore need to be during the day.
True, midday is not rush hour. But the wider point stands that volume of HGV's driving around central London is far too high.
I agree. I personally only overtake them when they're stationary. Also, the poor girl, it seems the HGV cut into her path cos according to witnesses, the right hand of the rear wheel was what hit her.
Does make me angry that one of the first things they mention is her not wearing a helmet. Fuck lot of good two inches of polystyrene will do if an HGV drives over your head. Typical disingenuous journalism that subtly shifts some blame to the poor victim.
