Caporegime
Seems to me that many motorists have little or no idea of the blind spots in a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) or, truck to you & I.
So, I got out my trusty camera to show you just what can be seen from the mirrors of a 44 tonner.
Also, after a bit of googling, I found a diagram that roughly gives an idea of the field of vision for the average artic driver.
Most of this is fairly self-explanatory. Hopefully it's helpful.
The darker the shade of green the harder it is for the driver to see you-ASSUMING HE'S LOOKING IN THE CORRECT MIRROR to see you.
Red areas are completely blind to the driver.Note the blind areas directly in front and to the right of the cab. They are big enough to lose someone pushing a cycle flat against the truck.
Pic1
Pic2
Pic3
Pic4
Pic5
Pic 1) and pic 2) Truck turning left/on a left hand bend.
Rear of the trailer will be moving closer to the kerb and further to the left than the cab.
The cab will be on the white line or even crossing into the other carriageway depending on how sharp the turn is and how wide the road is.
Driver is HIGHLY unlikely to be looking in his right hand mirror unless to check if the corner of the trailer is in the right hand lane-and all he'll see in it is the headboard of the trailer if he is.
Predominantly he'll be looking in the left mirror/ahead.
Pic 3) Truck going in a straight line.
This is also the same visibility as a rigid or non-articulated vehicle. Assume the driver is using his mirrors only in the direction of travel in a rigid vehicle.
If the truck is stationary or it's safe to do so-(ie assuming no oncoming traffic there needs to be no bends in the road coming up and the truck isn't indicating) then this is the safest time to overtake.
DO NOT UNDERTAKE while it's moving-and if you MUST undertake then only do so if you KNOW the truck isn't going to move before you're past.
DO NOT pull up in the nearside red zone by the cab.The kerbside mirror shows very little. If the driver is going to miss you,unless you're directly behind the trailer this is where he'll miss you while the truck is stationary.
We'd far rather you pulled up directly in front of us and we could see you.
Pic 4) and pic 5) Truck turning right/on a right hand bend.
Rear of the trailer will be on the white line or even crossing into the other carriageway depending on how sharp the turn is and how wide the road is.
BEWARE the back end of the trailer-if this is a very sharp bend the rear of the trailer will be moving to the left as it pivots round the axles. This is a SERIOUS crush hazard and the driver CANNOT SEE IT at all and is unlikely to know the trailer has hit someone. I once ripped the front bumper and valence from a Discovery that tried to push through and I didn't feel it.
Driver will be splitting attention between right mirror(back of trailer),left mirror(Is the headboard going to intrude on the path?) and ahead.
If an articulated lorry isn't stopped in a straight line DON'T undertake. Your chances of being seen are slim if bent left and nil if bent right and you're likely to get crushed as either the cab or trailer will be coming very close to the kerb.
For the same reason don't cycle up behind one in the red zone at speed then pass-the driver may already have committed to a manoeuvre because his mirrors look clear.
Shoot me for taking pictures of my mirrors whilst moving, but, I decided to add those to give you all a true idea of the view from mine & many other HGV mirrors.
Nearside Mirror
Offside Mirror
Kerb mirror.
Note, the rig is straight, so I can clearly see down both sides, as soon as an artic turns, this is not the case!
I hope the above is of some use, if it helps one person here not get side swiped by an HGV, then I'm a happy bunny.
So, I got out my trusty camera to show you just what can be seen from the mirrors of a 44 tonner.
Also, after a bit of googling, I found a diagram that roughly gives an idea of the field of vision for the average artic driver.
Most of this is fairly self-explanatory. Hopefully it's helpful.
The darker the shade of green the harder it is for the driver to see you-ASSUMING HE'S LOOKING IN THE CORRECT MIRROR to see you.
Red areas are completely blind to the driver.Note the blind areas directly in front and to the right of the cab. They are big enough to lose someone pushing a cycle flat against the truck.
Pic1
Pic2
Pic3
Pic4
Pic5
Pic 1) and pic 2) Truck turning left/on a left hand bend.
Rear of the trailer will be moving closer to the kerb and further to the left than the cab.
The cab will be on the white line or even crossing into the other carriageway depending on how sharp the turn is and how wide the road is.
Driver is HIGHLY unlikely to be looking in his right hand mirror unless to check if the corner of the trailer is in the right hand lane-and all he'll see in it is the headboard of the trailer if he is.
Predominantly he'll be looking in the left mirror/ahead.
Pic 3) Truck going in a straight line.
This is also the same visibility as a rigid or non-articulated vehicle. Assume the driver is using his mirrors only in the direction of travel in a rigid vehicle.
If the truck is stationary or it's safe to do so-(ie assuming no oncoming traffic there needs to be no bends in the road coming up and the truck isn't indicating) then this is the safest time to overtake.
DO NOT UNDERTAKE while it's moving-and if you MUST undertake then only do so if you KNOW the truck isn't going to move before you're past.
DO NOT pull up in the nearside red zone by the cab.The kerbside mirror shows very little. If the driver is going to miss you,unless you're directly behind the trailer this is where he'll miss you while the truck is stationary.
We'd far rather you pulled up directly in front of us and we could see you.
Pic 4) and pic 5) Truck turning right/on a right hand bend.
Rear of the trailer will be on the white line or even crossing into the other carriageway depending on how sharp the turn is and how wide the road is.
BEWARE the back end of the trailer-if this is a very sharp bend the rear of the trailer will be moving to the left as it pivots round the axles. This is a SERIOUS crush hazard and the driver CANNOT SEE IT at all and is unlikely to know the trailer has hit someone. I once ripped the front bumper and valence from a Discovery that tried to push through and I didn't feel it.
Driver will be splitting attention between right mirror(back of trailer),left mirror(Is the headboard going to intrude on the path?) and ahead.
If an articulated lorry isn't stopped in a straight line DON'T undertake. Your chances of being seen are slim if bent left and nil if bent right and you're likely to get crushed as either the cab or trailer will be coming very close to the kerb.
For the same reason don't cycle up behind one in the red zone at speed then pass-the driver may already have committed to a manoeuvre because his mirrors look clear.
Shoot me for taking pictures of my mirrors whilst moving, but, I decided to add those to give you all a true idea of the view from mine & many other HGV mirrors.
Nearside Mirror
Offside Mirror
Kerb mirror.
Note, the rig is straight, so I can clearly see down both sides, as soon as an artic turns, this is not the case!
I hope the above is of some use, if it helps one person here not get side swiped by an HGV, then I'm a happy bunny.
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