Its always been a problem of inexperienced cyclists thinking they can filter up the inside at lights ,going around buses or even artics.
They think theres a space or the truck is going to go straight on but unfortunately trucks need to first move well forward then swing around because of their length.
Poor girl ,only 22.
Indeed, it also worries me that all three mentioned were female. We had this problem on London for many years when around half or more of the victims were women but they only formed well under a quarter of the cyclists.
Ironically the problem was that women were far more law abiding than men, not jumping the lights and not stopping well ahead of the white line at the lights as men did, where drivers could see them.
Our problem is largely solved now in several ways, with annual deaths down from the old 14 average to around 6 now in normal years. That involved a big education program, including police intensively stopping both drivers and cyclist who were making mistakes and many changes to the trucks that are allowed to operate in London.
In the photo of a typical example below you'll see a mirror at the top of the passenger door window which allows the driver to see a cyclist who parks by the front wheel. There's also a mirror at the top of the windscreen in front of the passenger seat which allows the driver to see a cyclist who stops just in front, hidden by the high dashboard. The full complement, depending on truck type, is six or seven driver mirrors, so no excuse now of saying a cyclist couldn't be seen.
But the cyclist is also responsible for taking precautions and not taking up dangerous positions. Also in the truck photo you'll see low down on the rear of the front mudguard an additional left turn flasher to warn cyclists and the truck also has cyclist warning signs on the rear. And of course low protector rails along the side to stop anyone going under the rear wheels. Many of our longer trucks also optionally have a number of flashers all along the side.
But the biggest safety factor is numbers. We now have nearly a third of a million cyclists commuting into Central London each week day, so many that rush hours drivers always have them in view and therefore in mind all the time.
