ironwood

When a long semi trailer truck makes a ninety degree turn, the cab swings wide of the corner at first, but the trailer comes in close to the curb and corner, and can kill a pedestrian or cyclist. A long bus corners the same way.

In Boston a gifted surgeon was killed by a semi trailer making a sharp turn. The trailer swept her under the rear wheels.

These trailers should have someone watching when they navigate city streets, but I doubt laws will be passed requiering this in the near future. In the mean time stay away from these long vehicules especially when turning.

prathmann

Side guards are a reasonably effective measure to reduce the likelihood of a fatality from a truck making a right turn and sweeping a cyclist or pedestrian under the rear wheels. Many of these are also designed to improve aerodynamics so they may actually save money in the long run for the trucking industry. I've noticed a steadily increasing percentage of tractor-trailer trucks using such side guards.
NTSB Recommends Truck Side Guards to Protect Pedestrians and Cyclists | Streetsblog.netOf course it's still necessary to be aware of the turning characteristics of these vehicles and to avoid being next to them when they may initiate a turn.

Mos6502

It is of course ultimately the driver's fault, not the cyclists. But any cyclist with an ounce of self preservation instinct should know to never be to the right of a semi - ever - in any situation. Buses are usually not as bad as turns tend to be made by sticking the front end into the oncoming lane of the street they're turning into rather than by swinging away from the curb before turning - so you really REALLY shouldn't be between a bus and the curb in the first place. Also as buses have skirted sides it's much more difficult to fall under the wheels.

In any event, always assume they don't see you.

mr_bill

I stay out of the no zone as much as possible.
Problem is we get operators who put us into their no zone.

Like this.

-mr. bill

StephenH

A related note- try to stay where the driver of said rig can see you in their mirrors- if you're directly behind them in the lane, you may be safe, but they may be wondering just where you went, too.

kickstart

I drive a semi around a major metropolitan area 8 to 10 hours a day, the vast majority of people have the minimum amount of common sense to not get into a bad spot around large vehicle, once in a while someone does something that simply boggles the mind.
I've been in the industry over 25 years and can safety say turning incidents are uncommon and usually require both parties to not be paying attention as trucks take turns of this type at very low speeds.

Chris516

I never ride side-by-side with a semi, in the same lane. That just would put me in the truck driver's blind spot. I 'take the lane'. So I am right in front of them.

When I was in elementary school, I dreamed of being a long-haul trucker, not an athlete in some professional sport. So I know the limitations truck drivers' have. I 'take the lane', out of respect for them. So, They don't have to worry about me being in their blind spot. Their job is hard enough as it is.

I can't drive a vehicle because of physical health issues. But that doesn't diminish my respect for truck drivers', and their limitations.

alcjphil

Number one safety rule is to never, ever, ever ride beside a large commercial vehicle when approaching an intersection and never to pass one on the right hand side. I learned this when I started riding a road bike over 45 years ago and have never come even close to danger from such large vehicles. Cars and small trucks on the other hand are much less predictable

FBinNY 

I know that there some who want to blame everyone but the cyclist (and of course some who always blame the cyclist) But the hazard of turning vehicles is well known, and has been for a long time. Trucks used to sport bold and graphic signage warning about passing on the blind side, and wide turns.

Of course if a driver passes a cyclist then makes a turn, it's the driver's fault for not verifying that he cleared the cyclist. But many of these accidents happen because cyclists pass these trucks as they're beginning the turn and slowing (how and why cyclists can pass), and slide into a blind spot when the mirrors are oriented so the driver can't see to the back of the trailer.

Side guards would help to a degree by reducing the chances of the cyclist sliding under the rear wheels, but they will not prevent the collision.

So the advice of the OP is well taken, be aware of the dangers of long vehicles, especially at intersections, and do not ride forward of the rearmost axle except when passing and sure the driver is not turning.

kickstart

To put it in some perspective, the company I drive for logs almost 4 million vehicle miles a day, and we receive continuous safety training. Obviously they focus on the major causes of incidents which are backing, and following distance related. Turning incidents rarely get any mention as they're so far down on the list.
Almost everyone understands the issue, almost as an instinct, because trucks are intimidating.

randomgear

A couple articles about improvements to the intersection in question (no disturbing pre-crash pics).
Behind a paywall, but your first 10 articles a month are free...

According to a well placed source, the tractor trailer drifted left while passing the cyclist before making the sharp turn cutting her off.

Planned improvements here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...WXN/story.html
I tend to think that the green bike boxes make future right hook crashes more likely in this case as cars will start turning immediately after the stop line and pass within a foot of the curb apex.

Cyclist places potted plants on Mass. Ave. to create temporary bike lane, plans to install more - The Boston Globe

CliffordK

Here is a video about blind spots that someone posted a while ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-rhiGRFTE

Just because you can see a truck doesn't mean it can see you.

If I can't get fully in front of a turning vehicle, and get a good part of the way through the intersection before they turn, then I'll stop behind them. Fortunately most vehicles around here use turn signals, and I look for them.

Chris516

Excellent reminder video!

unterhausen

right hooks are just as common among truck drivers as they are among other drivers, i.e. rare. But it appears the incident in the OP was a right hook by a truck driver. This is almost always fatal. They should probably add this into the driver's training.

mr_bill

In A&S, a truck operator is always innocent until proven guilty, which as all well and good.
The problem is in A&S the victim is always guilty until proven innocent, which is so very not.

To make it clear, the truck operator turned right from half way in the far left lane across the through lane *and* right turn lane onto Beacon Street. There is zero reason to make that turn that way.
Beacon Street is not a truck route, the operator should only need to turn there for a local delivery. (Beacon Street is now night-time truck restricted as well.)

That block is a major bike commuter route because the Harvard Bridge is one of the few bridges connecting Cambridge and Boston.


Unlike kickstart's assertion that turning incidents are unusual, there is a deadly pattern of truck operators passing cyclists and turning over them. One truck operator in Charlestown was recently brought before a grand jury, but the grand jury did not return an indictment. Another incident not all all far from here was a truck passing a cyclist and turning off of Beacon Street onto Bay State Road (truck restricted) from the left lane across multiple lanes - this was a FORK in the road - still under investigation. And another a BU student killed by a truck passing turning across multiple lanes of traffic onto Saint Paul Street - still under investigation.

But this week's brick and mortar hacktivism gives me a wee bit of hope.




-mr. bill

ItsJustMe

As someone who has driven large vehicles, I have a hard time assigning much blame to the driver of a rig when someone gets caught next to it. You couldn't pay me enough money to ride beside a large truck that was moving. It astounds me that anyone does; apparently people do not have any idea what the view is like from the cab of a big truck, and/or don't pay attention to what a truck does when it turns.

kickstart

It all depends on the rig, a day cab with pup, a long van and line tractor, and a 53' and sleeper will have vastly different needs.

I can see why a driver might choose to over compensate with those utilities so close to the curb. Under estimating the space needed and needing to jockey back and forth is a major headache that's best avoided. A truck making a right turn such as that almost certainly isn't going much faster than 10 mph, and a cyclist could very easily ride into the no zone that was previously clear when the driver initiated the turn and still had full, uninterrupted view.

corrado33

Not that we'll ever know, but if the truck's extremely visible, multiple turn signals were on, I think it's the fault of whoever pulled to the right of them. It's well known that trucks make wide turns. I've often seen trucks make turns that wide in Pittsburgh, I always assume they're making the right turn unless they keep going straight. It's sad, but honestly cyclists DO have to be wary of their surroundings. It's THEIR life on the line. If I saw a tractor trailer cutting across two lanes to the left right by a right hand turn, I'd at least slow down to see WTF he was doing...

It seems to me that the driver was lost since it's not a truck route, and was being extra careful not to get stuck. Can you blame the driver for being lost? Does that make him guilty of killing this cyclists? The fault lies with both parties, as both have to not be paying attention for this to happen.

79pmooney

It's not just trucks with trailers (semis). Large trucks in general can place unaware riders in a life threatening position when they turn right. There was an autumn a few years ago when two cyclists were killed by right turning trucks. I don't believe either were semis. I was supposed to be the first one to go, but I benefited from an angel. (A passenger in the dump truck who saw me and yelled.) The truck was turning into a farm store parking lot. I had just passed in front of the truck as it waited at a "T" intersection I was crossing, so it never occurred to me that 1) he didn't know I was there and 2) I had no idea he was going to pull into that gravel parking lot. When the truck started to pull I, I was looking at its side just in front of the rear wheel, knowing "this is it". I never heard the woman scream. All I know it that the truck straightened out and I did not hit it.

My best friend's dad told us when we were 13 years old what I was looking at was the crash that was going to kill me.

Ben

Chris516

This is another indirectly, why I 'take the lane' in front of a rig. Not every truck can have the sticker on the back, about making wide right turns. Like a flatbed trailer w/ or w/o a load. While they aren't around the DC-Metro region. Another example would be the cattle trailers, that are the same 53' length as a closed trailer. But w/o the 'wide right turn' message on the back.

kickstart

I know its a reason for you to "take the lane", as everything is, regardless of validity, that's a given, but I don't quite understand how what you do in front of a truck has anything to do with the presence or lack of a sign on the back.

BobbyG

A good reminder.

PatrickGSR94

And what's been installed since the crash goes even further to ENSURE future right hook crashes - a separated cycle track with flex posts to the right of a straight/right turn travel lane. GENIUS!

There's a video of the current installation illustrating both bicyclist and motorist behavior at that turn, shot and posted on Facebook last week, but I can't post it from work.

CliffordK

Just make sure when you "take the lane" that you're not hidden in front of a humongous hood, or didn't sneak around the side of the vehicle to get in front of it.

When I'm in the middle of a long line of traffic, I like to be near the right rear quarter panel of the car in front of me. About where the exhaust pipe exits out

So, if a car doesn't stop from behind, I won't be sandwiched between the two vehicles.

I also tend to take left corners wide so that a car could safely get around me while in the corner if they desire.

PatrickGSR94

Why? You can become hidden by that vehicle in front to an opposing vehicle waiting to turn left, and if they try to cut the turn short immediately after the vehicle in front of you clears, that could be bad news for you.

It's always best to line up towards the left of the lane when in a traffic queue. That's how motorcycle riders are taught, for that very same reason.

Taking left turns wide is good. I believe the LAB and CyclingSavvy both teach that technique. In my CS course they also taught us to indicate towards the right, through the middle of the left turn, to help indicate to an opposing motorist turning right-on-red that I'm intending to get into the right travel lane or bike lane after I complete my turn, so they don't try to turn right and end up broadsiding me.