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Coroner in Dr Katharine Giles inquest warns cyclists not to undertake lorries

CCTV footage shown at inquest reveals scientist rode up inside of lorry that was indicating a left-turn before it struck her

The coroner sitting on the inquest of Dr Katherine Giles, who was killed while riding her bike by a left-turning tipper truck in Victoria last April, says cyclists have to be aware of the danger of riding up the inside of lorries.

Dr Shirley Radcliffe’s comments came at the end of an inquest in which Westminster Coroner’s Court had been shown CCTV footage described as giving a “very clear view” of the events leading to the death of the 35-year-old polar scientist, reports the London Evening Standard.

Recording a verdict of “traumatic road death,” Dr Radcliffe said: “I don’t wish to place any fault or blame on the victim on this occasion.

“But I can highlight once again the danger of coming up on the near-side of lorries. It’s been recognised as causing many deaths in London.”

The CCTV footage showed Dr Giles riding up the inside of the truck and into the driver's blind spot as the lorry waited at traffic lights at the junction of Palace Street and Victoria Street having just picked up a load of earth and soil from a nearby building site.

The court heard that the lorry’s left indicator was flashing, and that there was also an audible warning that it was due to turn left prior to the fatal collision, which happened at 8.25am on the morning of Monday 8 April 2013.

According to a statement from cyclist Charles Lousada, who was riding behind Dr Giles: “It appeared she was trying to pull the bike away from the front wheels of the tipper truck. She was unbalanced... she appeared to be flipped backwards.

“She was motionless on her back. I could see her eyes open. Her head was injured... I knew she was dead. Any first aid would not have assisted with the massive head injuries.”

Dr Giles’s death resulted from injuries sustained to her head, chest and pelvis.

The lorry driver involved, James Matovu, was described by the coroner as having been “oblivious” to having struck Dr Giles, and stopped his vehicle once an off-duty police officer flagged him down as he drove along Victoria Street.

The Standard reports that he ran back to the junction where the collision had happened, the newspaper adding: “members of the public tried to stop him seeing the horror of the scene.”

Mr Matuvo said in a statement: “I’m very sorry that Katharine Giles died as a result of the collision. I was very shocked and upset by the collision.”

No charges have been brought against the driver, with Detective Sergeant Matt Austin of the Metropolitan Police saying that the case was not referred to the Crown Prosecution Service after officers concluded there was not enough evidence of the commission of an offence to give rise to a “realistic prospect of conviction.”

It is believed that Dr Giles, who lived in Maida Vale, was riding to her place of work at University College London’s Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling, where her work had led to her being described as a “brilliant young scientist.”

The coroner disclosed that Dr Giles’s parents had decided not to attend the inquest and the Standard adds that her friends also declined to be present.

In the days following her death last April, both the London Cycling Campaign and British Cycling urged for lorries to be banned from city centres at morning rush hour, something Mayor of London Boris Johnson has rejected.

A planned vigil for Dr Giles being organised by the charity RoadPeace was cancelled out of respect for her family’s wishes.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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45 comments

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RPK | 10 years ago
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Personally, I'd just wait behind any large vehicle. It's been shown that even stopping in front of one, in a stop box, doesn't guarantee that you've been seen.

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userfriendly | 10 years ago
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Because safety costs money. And they're all worshipping the God of Profit. Money, money über alles!

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McDuff73 | 10 years ago
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have to ask yourself, in such a technical world these days why the hell are there such large dangerous vehicles like trucks still allowed on the road with 'blind spots'!? its sheer lunacy to allow such vehicles to continue using the road.

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ribena | 10 years ago
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Quote:

And it's attitudes like this which really don't help

Its attitudes like that which are responsible for building cars with crumple zones, airbags, and seatbelts, making motorways with crash barriers down the middle, putting pedestrian crossings in to make crossing the road safer, and doing the many other things that have reduced road deaths from 8000 a year to under 2000.

When you are cycling its best to assume everyone else is an idiot. Regardless of your views on personal responsibility designing roads and vehicles the same ways saves a lot of lives (and often saves money too).

If the lorry had been fitted with cameras for example he might have stopped, and beeped his horn. No-one would have died and she'd have learnt a lesson.

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giff77 | 10 years ago
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I'm with Wolfshade on this one. Many of us on the forum here have the sense to hang back whenever there is an HGV or bus ahead. In fact if I'm not going to hit the white line ahead of any traffic I will not filter through to the ASL regardless of what vehicle is ahead of me. Sadly many commuters have been convinced that the cycle lane feeding the ASL is a safe place to be and do not realise that heavier vehicles will cut the corner in turning or that a motorist will just turn without indicating. I would scrap the feeder lane and if a cyclist arrives at the ASL ahead of other vehicles fine. If not then just wait up in the queue. But we need to scrap this idea of filtering through to get to the front.

The sooner better thought through junctions are designed the better.

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mooleur replied to giff77 | 10 years ago
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giff77 wrote:

I'm with Wolfshade on this one. Many of us on the forum here have the sense to hang back whenever there is an HGV or bus ahead. In fact if I'm not going to hit the white line ahead of any traffic I will not filter through to the ASL regardless of what vehicle is ahead of me. Sadly many commuters have been convinced that the cycle lane feeding the ASL is a safe place to be and do not realise that heavier vehicles will cut the corner in turning or that a motorist will just turn without indicating. I would scrap the feeder lane and if a cyclist arrives at the ASL ahead of other vehicles fine. If not then just wait up in the queue. But we need to scrap this idea of filtering through to get to the front.

The sooner better thought through junctions are designed the better.

I agree with this. As a country bumpkin, I moved to London four years ago (and have since left after being hit by cars too many times and deciding that I'm not quite built for the City!) and began riding a bike originally as a means of getting to work.

Where I come from there's no ASL's or cycling lanes etc (there's no need, it's all country lanes etc). So when presented with the way the infrastructure works in London you're immediately coerced into thinking that the marked-out lines are there for your benefit. You can't really blame someone who might have come from an understanding of an entirely different traffic culture.

Something needs to change in London to make cyclists aware of the imminent danger surrounding them at all times, they shouldn't be lead to believe that simply using filter lanes, cycle lanes and ASL's allow them to travel safely.

This is such a sad story. I hope it changes there asap.  2

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Guyz2010 | 10 years ago
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Bloody sad way to go & I feel sorry for the truck driver. Was she in that kinda urgency that doing a foolish move like was going to save time?
We cyclist are the most vulnerable in these occasion and must consider this in our actions.
God bless her.

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therealsmallboy | 10 years ago
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I just feel sorry for everyone involved. Well done to the people who tried to stop the driver seeing her body like that. What a waste.

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themartincox | 10 years ago
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"The court heard that the lorry’s left indicator was flashing, and that there was also an audible warning that it was due to turn left prior to the fatal collision"

An unwise manoeuvre from the cyclist, as sad as this incident is, the driver was doing all that he could to alert traffic as to his intentions - seems pretty blameless from that description.

Got to hang back if they are indicating!

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Neil753 replied to themartincox | 10 years ago
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themartincox wrote:

"The court heard that the lorry’s left indicator was flashing, and that there was also an audible warning that it was due to turn left prior to the fatal collision"

An unwise manoeuvre from the cyclist, as sad as this incident is, the driver was doing all that he could to alert traffic as to his intentions - seems pretty blameless from that description.

Got to hang back if they are indicating!

Good advice, but I would add that, as lorry drivers, we are not perfect, and neither are the trucks we drive. Whether the indicators are flashing or not, just in case they're not working, or the driver hasn't indicated, don't even think about undertaking - it's just not worth the few seconds you might save. RIP.

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Wolfshade | 10 years ago
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Quote:

cyclists have to be aware of the danger of riding up the inside of lorries

While I agree with this sentiment, there is moreover a problem that frequently cycling infrastructure encourages cyclists to pass on the inside of vehicles.
Most on road cycle lanes ride up the inside of the traffic, then those lovely ASL which the majority of them have a filter lane up the left handside actively encouraging, nay, demanding that cyclists enter from the inside of traffic.

With all this infrastructure pushing cyclists up the inside it is little wonder that this is what happens.

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bubbles_jonnybravo replied to Wolfshade | 10 years ago
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Wolfshade wrote:

Most on road cycle lanes ride up the inside of the traffic, then those lovely ASL which the majority of them have a filter lane up the left handside actively encouraging, nay, demanding that cyclists enter from the inside of traffic.

With all this infrastructure pushing cyclists up the inside it is little wonder that this is what happens.

I disagree, yes the lanes are on the left but it is up to the individual as to whether or not they ride down the inside of traffic, effectively undertaking. We as in cyclist could just as easy wait behind the vehicle in front at lights and ride off as they change. Especially if vehicles are indicating.

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mrmo replied to Wolfshade | 10 years ago
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Wolfshade wrote:

Most on road cycle lanes ride up the inside of the traffic, then those lovely ASL which the majority of them have a filter lane up the left handside actively encouraging, nay, demanding that cyclists enter from the inside of traffic.

I have to say it does sound as if she made a very stupid, in hindsight, manoeuvre and paid very dearly for it. It does raise the question as to whether ASLs and the feeder lanes are "fit for purpose", I don't know if there was or was not an ASL in this case, but anything that suggests it is a good idea to go into the blind zones of trucks is questionable and the habits it creates.

When will we be seeing traffic engineers being held accountable for their input into road planning. Who creates pinchpoints? who create fast junctions with a primary purpose of keeping the traffic (cars) moving?

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AyBee replied to Wolfshade | 10 years ago
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Wolfshade wrote:
Quote:

cyclists have to be aware of the danger of riding up the inside of lorries

While I agree with this sentiment, there is moreover a problem that frequently cycling infrastructure encourages cyclists to pass on the inside of vehicles.
Most on road cycle lanes ride up the inside of the traffic, then those lovely ASL which the majority of them have a filter lane up the left handside actively encouraging, nay, demanding that cyclists enter from the inside of traffic.

With all this infrastructure pushing cyclists up the inside it is little wonder that this is what happens.

And it's attitudes like this which really don't help. What on earth happened to taking responsibility for your own actions? No infrastructure in the world is "demanding that cyclists enter from the inside of traffic", what an absurd statement to make. It's perfectly possible to hang back behind buses and lorries at junctions to avoid being on the inside when the lights turn green even if the cycle lane does go down the left hand side to the front. You'll add seconds to your journey but I'd rather arrive late than never!

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Edgeley replied to AyBee | 10 years ago
1 like

What a stupid comment. How can we all want more people to cycle, and then say that the only people who will be allowed to survive going out on their bikes are experienced survivors like us?

Of course people should take personal responsibility, but it is also the responsibility of planners not to encourage people into dangerous places with evil infrastructure.

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