Boyfriend of cyclist killed by lorry driver tells road.cc he tried to forgive him - because his girlfriend would have done so

Firstly, apologise for irritating you, wasn't intended.

Velo-Chris wrote:

and accidents like this will continue to happen regardless of any safety measures that are taken.

Ush wrote:

This is obviously and trivially untrue.

Accidents are a part of every day life Ush, granted I should have worded that point better (a lot better on reflection) as certain accidents can be avoided.

The point that I obviously failed to make as you haven't referred to it whilst dissecting my entire post is that Terence Gibbs has to live the rest of his life with this playing on his mind. I hope he is forgiven and more importantly, manages to cope with the memory, as it's unlikely he went to work that day planning this.

A past neighbour of mine was driving a lorry which collided with a cyclist resulting in the injured man requiring a wheel chair for life.

My neighbour was a great guy, always friendly, the kind of person you hope to be fortunate to live next to. Following the accident he became dependent on alcohol to block memories of what had happened. A few years later he had to move out of his marital home when he tried to torch it for no reason, this guy dwelled and punished himself to the point he completely lost the plot.

Sadly there are dangers in our sport and accidents like this will continue to happen regardless of any safety measures that are taken.

I hope Terrance finds a way to put what happened behind him, from what I have read on this he isn't to blame and shouldn't blame himself.

I don't know if Terence Gibbs is likely to read this, but it will be as much the drivers of the trucks who have been through this dreadful experience, who press for the better ways to work with trucks and cycles on the road, as it will be the relatives of the victims and the cycling community.

On 9th December I was at a Construction Logistics & Cycle Safety seminar in City Hall. One of those on the panel, operated trucks from the 2012 Olympics site - Brian Dorling worked for his operation, and he had to break the news to people working at the site. Outside was a 26T tipper truck with a low down driving position and full height glazed doors on the nearside, several have now been supplied to one major contractor for use in London. Because these have a 'special' cab they cost about 20% more than the currently 'accepted' macho-man 'tonka-trucks'. However the meeting reported that most drivers were pleased to get the improved ability to see what was next to their trucks, and this also addressed perhaps the major source of injury to truck drivers - injuries sustained when climbing up or jumping down from those high cabs. We might even see low cabs being specified because the truck owners need to reduce injury claims from their drivers!

But to be less frivolous, in religious circles it is often noted that the greatest evangelists come from the ranks of the converted - starting perhaps with St Paul. It will be tearful and tough but perhaps through the testimony and pressure of those at the wheel in those fatal crashes we might get the greatest results. I really hope that Chris Boardman's appearance before the Transport Select Committee is not a solo performance - perhaps Mr Gibbs, or once of the other drivers carrying the burden of being a party to the loss of a life, through whatever combination of circumstances, will be able to describe the human perspective from the other side of the coin.

It's always heartbreaking to hear that someone has died just trying to get around town. Here's hoping that the victim's boyfriend and family have a happy life too.