In earlier days I drove an ambulance, and had to qualify for it by performing a litany of predetermined driving feats. Doing backwards figure-8's around lampposts in a parking lot and backing it into a precise position in the garage using nothing more than the rearview mirrors (sides only, the center is obviously blocked) are things you can only get good at through constant practice. But the point is, you can practice and can improve, because the mirrors on an ambulance are fixed and the cab does not articulate from the rest of the ambulance. In other words, when you look in the mirror, you always see the exact same space relative to the body of the truck, whether you're driving in a straight line or turning.
This is not true in tractor trailers, which obviously articulate. Drivers of tractor trailers have it far tougher when they take corners, because the articulation of the truck temporarily creates horrendously huge blind spots. This is especially a problem in cities, where an 18-wheeler may have bicyclists riding in close proximity to them. With the intense amount of things occupying a driver's attention in an urban environment, if they have not had their eyes glued to their mirrors directly before making a turn, and then kept their eyes on that same mirror all throughout the turn (as unlikely as it is practically impossible), there can be trouble. Take a look at this video put together by Transport for London, illustrating the blind spot:
A year or so ago, a woman on a moped was killed at the corner of Houston Street and 6th Avenue by a turning truck. She was in the exact position the cyclists are in in the video above. The driver was not charged and claimed he did not see the woman at all. Your kneejerk reaction might be that that's a poor excuse, but hopefully after seeing this video, you'll realize that what we have here is a big, fat design problem.
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
Comments
First: Putting a truck driver on the opposite seating position is a not a great idea as it would then create a greater number of difficulties. Primarily when driving in traffic; such as making left turns at intersections, reducing visibility of other vehicles passing the truck on the right, as well as making passing a guessing game for the driver.
Second: Mirrors on transports and large/ long vehicles should give the driver a view of the rear of the vehicle/ trailer so they are aware of where exactly it is and any obstacles that may get in the way. Further more, yes on small passenger vehicles you don't need to/ shouldn't see any part of the vehicle in the wing mirrors since you have an unobstructed rear view mirror(or at least should). The three mirrors should be treated as one and adjusted accordingly to eliminate any redundancy. But in a transport there is no rearview mirror, therefore the wings are pretty much the only way for the driver to know whats going on beside and behind them.
More videos like this are important as many pedestrians and cyclists are ignorant to the limitations of large vehicles as most likely have no first hand experience with trucks.
-rant- But the real message of this video is that many truck drivers don't care about safety, have poorly setup trucks and are a menace to anyone on the road. -rant-