“Cyclists – Beware of passing this vehicle on the inside”
Presumably because the driver could be drunk, using his mobile phone, and have 20 previous convictions for driving while disqualified?
Putz, of Barnet, North London, was previously jailed for six months in 1995 for reckless driving and again in 2003 for 16 instances of driving an HGV while disqualified.
Or because the driver could be under the influence of a ‘controlled substance’?
Needless to say, I was not passing this vehicle on the inside. I had little choice but to find myself on the inside of it, as it passed me on the outside.
I am not quite sure why this vehicle was driving through Sloane Square today. It certainly gave me the willies.
As Easy As Riding A Bike 
Obviously it’s a bad idea to pass any vehicle on the inside at a junction, but what’s the point of having the sign there? By the time you can see it you’re already nearly level with the cab.
To be fair to Thames Materials – as difficult as it is to say that – there was a sign on the rear of the vehicle as well.
But you are right – the sign there is effectively pointless, as you can only read it when you find yourself in precisely the wrong position.
These signs are yet another example of trying to increase road safety instead of reduce road danger.
If this was a workplace, or public transport, the HSE would insist that the danger be eliminated, or considerably reduced, or removed from the vicinity of human beings, before even considering putting up ineffective signs and requiring the potential victim to protect themselves.
Lorries like this should, in order of most effective safety measure:
* Be banned from streets which have pedestrians and cyclists.
* Be limited to 10mph if they have to use these streets, perhaps with a banksman on foot too, as they are required to have on a building site.
* Be limited to a motor lane, physically separate from the lanes used by cyclists.
* Have no blind spots (it’s easy to add a mirror or two, or even video cameras).
These lorries weigh in at around 33 ton when loaded. when on site they usually have their flashing lights on. Why don’t they have them on when on the road. The sign on the side does help a little I suppose. But if you can’t read it whats the point.