Berlin reports rise in fatalities as new bike lanes fail to keep cyclists safe
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Frankly I don't know why these trucks are allowed in any dense urban areas. From various freight deliveries I've received, I've learned that the semi trailer is usually about 20% full anyway. Any normal delivery that a semi can make, a box truck can make. Box truck drivers might also ignore everyone else on the road, but in general they seem less distracted by difficulties in the basic task of driving.
Sigh.
In Germany, a cyclist riding properly takes more or less a whole lane on its own, like a car. No, we don't pass trucks on the right, not even if they are stopped.
Here is how it looks, in ideal and less than ideal cases: https://www.adfc.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Im-Alltag/Verkehrs...
This kind of accident usually happens if the truck overtakes a cyclist which is crossing an intersection, the cyclist going straight ahead, and the truck turning to the right. Usually, the truck drivers do not see the cyclist. This kind of accident is, with high frequency, deadly.
"Not seeing" the cyclist is more of a cognitive problem than a visual problem. Apparently, drivers seem to cognitively mask out things which are not dangerous obstacles to them.
It happens more frequently if there is a bicycle path at the right side. Bicycle paths do make mixed traffic more dangerous. Cyclists pressure groups like ADFC are against extending bicycle paths, for that reason, but many uneducated cyclist prefer them because the feel safer.
One measure is to set a maximum speed limit for trucks turning so that cyclists could escape it.
What I believe more in is a technical measure, an autonomous emergency brake, which just stops the truck if there is any cyclist at the side.
Also, many UK cities have introduced general speed limits in city areas of 20 mph, and they seem to work really well, even if not everyone follows them yet.
In Germany, a cyclist riding properly takes more or less a whole lane on its own, like a car. No, we don't pass trucks on the right, not even if they are stopped.
Sigh. One could probably find American cyclists who will happily park behind a big truck and wait to get pancaked too. Momentum is valuable. To each her own. I do agree that in many situations it's better to split lanes and pass on the left than to pass on the right. It isn't always possible.
This kind of accident usually happens if the truck overtakes a cyclist which is crossing an intersection, the cyclist going straight ahead...
As I'm sure you agree, cyclists entering an intersection should already have taken the whole lane, to prevent exactly that problem. Cyclists beside a big truck are already in the wrong place. As you indicate, grade-separated bike lanes are a big reason why cyclists might not realize that they're in such a situation. The grade separation is often interrupted at intersections. At that point cyclists in the bike lane aren't much different from cyclists on the sidewalk.