Here is the text from the first letter I wrote back in July to the Oakwood Plant Group. To date, I have not received a reply.

Oakwood Plant Group
Attn: Complaints
Oakwood House
Nobel Road
London
N18 3BH

Tuesday, 9th July 2008

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing regarding an incident that occurred yesterday morning (Monday 8th July 2008) on Drayton Park, N5 and which involved one of your HGV drivers. Unfortunately I did not get the full licence plate of the lorry, but it began with EU08. It was the kind of HGV which has a skip onboard.

At approximately 9.45am, I was cycling in the designated cycle lane on Drayton Park, just before the junction with Aubert Park, and your HGV driver sped passed me so closely and so quickly that I was swayed off balance by the force of the wind. I am a very experienced cyclist so I did not come off my bike, but I was certainly given a fright! The lorry came so close to me in fact, that the driver of the car waiting at the junction of Aubert Park had a look of horror on their face as they realised that the lorry was only a couple of inches away from having knocked me off my bike and in this way, the driver of your vehicle very nearly caused a fatality.

At little further on, where Drayton Park thins just before the junction with Benwell Road, the driver of your lorry then nearly forced the driver of a car off the road as well. The driver of this car was forced to slam their brakes on as the lorry forced its way ahead without any concern whosoever for other road users, motorised or otherwise. In fact, had the driver of the car not taken such rash action, they would have been crushed up against the cars parked on the side of the road.

Overall, the driver of your HGV displayed such an extraordinary level of irresponsibility and negligence over a such a small stretch of road (about ½ mile) that I am certain the driver will cause serious damage, perhaps even a fatality, unless some kind of re-education of the driver is taken. As I am sure you are aware, every year several cyclists are killed by HGVs (26 in 2005), and so I find the actions of your driver to be extremely worrying. In fact, according to the BBC, half of all cyclists killed on London roads are actually killed by HGVs.

Something you might be interested in reading (and also making available to the drivers of your HGVs) is a brief study regarding cycle lanes and the common mistake that many motorised road users make. Essentially, Pete Owens’ “The Effect of Cycle Lanes on Cyclists’ Road Space” finds that many motorists use the markings of a cycle lane as a guide in passing a cyclist, instead of using their own judgement and common sense. Since many cycle lanes are woefully inadequate and too thin, this causes motorists to come far too close to cyclists, much closer than they would if they used their own judgement. My own experience as a cyclist, and also of every other cyclist that I know, confirms this study.

However, whilst this might excuse the proximity in which your HGV driver passed me, it certainly does not excuse the speed in which they were travelling, nor their actions with the driver of the car. Overall, I consider the actions of your driver to be negligent, inconsiderate, irresponsible, selfish and dangerous.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I still look forward to hearing from them. :/

Posted under complaints