A coroner has called for cyclists to be taught how to ride safely near lorries in London, ordering Transport for London to make greater efforts to highlight the dangers.
Mary Hassell, head coroner for north and east London, warned yesterday that the Mayor’s cycle superhighways lured cyclists into a “false sense of security” after conducting the inquests of two riders, Brian Dorling and Philippine de Gerin-Ricard, who were killed at either end the same blue-painted route that links Bow and Aldgate.
She concluded that Ms de Gerin-Ricard, 20, who was riding a Borisbike, died as a result of an “appalling accident” with an HGV near Aldgate East Tube in July.
She rode into a “blind spot” and was dragged under the lorry’s wheels when its front clipped the bike’s back wheel.
“I think she didn’t have any conception of what danger she was in that space,” Ms Hassell said. “What we would like, of course, is to have cyclists in a separate cycle lane.”
She called on TfL for an “innovative” redesign of the junction, and added that cyclists also should be taught to “dominate” a lane when there was insufficient space for bikes alongside vehicles.
“The other matter about which I’m going to make a report is the education of cyclists,” Ms Hassell said. “I think we could change our culture. I appreciate that change has already begun but I want to support that change so that cyclists know instinctively how dangerous some of these manoeuvres are. I think a great deal more can be done. There will be more and more cyclists and that is what we want. We have to find new ways of trying to keep them safe.”
