Sunday, May 31, 2009

London Mayor narrowly escapes accident while cycling

Boris Johnson, Mayor of the city of London in the UK, was cycling on a street in the city last Friday, ironically on "Narrow Street," and also ironically, to scout out new, safer cycling routes. The rear doors of a passing truck (or lorry, in the local lingo) swung open as the truck bounced over a speed bump, and caught on a parked car, dragging the car across the street and just barely missing Mr. Johnson and several other cyclists. The event was caught on video by a private security camera; you can watch it here:

http://www.mirror.co.uk?bcpid=18731164001&bctid=24043468001

The cyclists were in a lane separate from the truck and parked cars, so you probably can't say that the truck driver was passing the cyclists in an unsafe manner. Eyewitness reports about the speed of the truck are conflicting; some say the the driver was going over the speed limit, while others say he was within the limit, but too fast for the speed bump. At best, the driver is only guilty of not properly securing the rear doors of the truck.

2 comments:

  1. I have seen too many people injured and even killed working with unsafe car equipment. It seems to be all about the bottom dollar to most manufacturers which is why you have to be very careful when purchasing new machinery or dump trucks.

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  2. He was on the wrong side of the road!

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