An idea for my workplace : Heavy Vehicle driver's on Bikes.
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:08 pm
Let me say at the onset that I have no experience in organizing this and I feel that it has less than a 3% chance of being successful.
Thats why I will need your help
Let me also say at the onset that this isn't a thread to bash heavy vehicle drivers and other motorists. I am trying to focus on a need I think we can all agree on - the need for increased safety for cyclists - and deal with it in a proactive manner.
I work driving a bus on the far southern coast of Queensland ( workplace agreements prevent me from naming them and identifying myself as an employee - its a complicated media/PR issue so don't bother asking - Please no one mention the company name if you think you might know it - having this thread appear on search engines is a sure way to kill the idea at the onset) and also enjoy cycling ... albeit often in a state of constant awareness/ fear of other motorists.
On the whole I have got to say that I have not had many "close encounters" with my fellow workmates while riding ... but then its the nature of a bus roaring past a little bit too close for comfort that such moments stand out as memorable. Admittedly there is a predominant attitude of extreme distaste (polite way of putting it) of cyclists amongst the drivers. I feel this arises from lack of awareness of the law, dislike for the act of cylcing itself (as one driver told me : The last time I rode a bike was 20 years ago .... the worst 15 minutes of my life), and regular encounters with cyclists who flaunt rules and safety.
To get to the crux of my proposal : As part of the initial training all employees of our company go through (or refresher training existing employees go through) , I would like to see a part of it dealing with cycling.
Ideally it would involve taking everyone out on a short bike ride.
Realistically it would probably be a few information sheets that they can take away with them and maybe a youtube vid or two during their training.
At the very least it could be a poster I could stick up in the driver's room (An edited Australian version - quite a few options on "how to not kill a cyclist- I just got to make one obedient to mostly Qld but also NSW law since drivers venture in both areas)
Personally I feel that my experience as a cyclist has changed my attitude as a driver and resulted in actual changes to the the way that I handle my vehicle. I would like to somehow provide others with that experience.
Big hold up for taking time on the training is that the company would be paying for it - in that everyone who attends training gets paid . Due to the nature of gov't grants etc, the company actually make a profit from everyone that goes through training. Adding any sort of component to training is a delicate matter of time vs money. I imagine getting drivers out on bikes during training would also be seen as legal headache for workplace health and safety. I am thinking that it could be possible to scope out a local munificent bike rental shop and maybe even put in a few $ myself to get the helmets but I think the serious hurdles would be the legalities and financing of training on company time. As far as I know, there is nothing even remotely close to this in australia (recall some discussion about it being done in the UK as part of vehicle licensing ).
Feel free to provide links to prove me wrong ....
On the plus side, I know that the person in charge of training is enthusiastic about their field and eager to expand it to make it more engaging, interesting and relevant to the drivers.
There is also a positive PR image that make the whole thing more attractive (imagine a news release about bus drivers riding bicycles as part of training)
There is also a health aspect (vaguely recall a recent gov't funded university study on bus driver health aimed at identifying causes and solutions)
But at the end of the day I can't think of a funding angle that could see this incorporated in training.
anyways I guess this brings us to the realistic option (I guess realistic options are the means to pave the way for idealistic ones) - Providing information sheets and short vids that can be used during training (or at the very least posted up on the driver's board).
I want to use this thread as a catalogue for all the great vids and article info you see posted on this forum so I can collate them into some sort of information sheet or presentation or poster (I used to illustrate childrens books in an off beat humourous style and feel I could pull off some sort of poster relevant to Australian road users ).
Feel free to double up on already existing threads and new ones as they appear to give me the information and resources I need
for instance these recent vids are good
Five Pro Cyclists Reflect on Bicycle Safety
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFZSW_aT ... r_embedded[/youtube]
Share the road - Canadian Video
also a couple of nasty ones could be good
and article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -down.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and also nasty from the other POV
also any relevant info links would be appreciated
How to Not Kill a Cyclist
http://www.themorningnews.org/article/h ... -a-cyclist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I recall a poster (american) also titled "how to not kill a cyclist" someone linked here. It was a PDF.
Link anyone?
Also any relevant links for Australian statistics (cyclist injury/ death) and law pertinent to NSW (recall discussions about it being illegal to ride a bike on the footpath in NSW) and Qld would be helpful.
As you can guess this is still very much at the brainstorming level. Feel free to contribute.
Many Thanks.
Thats why I will need your help
Let me also say at the onset that this isn't a thread to bash heavy vehicle drivers and other motorists. I am trying to focus on a need I think we can all agree on - the need for increased safety for cyclists - and deal with it in a proactive manner.
I work driving a bus on the far southern coast of Queensland ( workplace agreements prevent me from naming them and identifying myself as an employee - its a complicated media/PR issue so don't bother asking - Please no one mention the company name if you think you might know it - having this thread appear on search engines is a sure way to kill the idea at the onset) and also enjoy cycling ... albeit often in a state of constant awareness/ fear of other motorists.
On the whole I have got to say that I have not had many "close encounters" with my fellow workmates while riding ... but then its the nature of a bus roaring past a little bit too close for comfort that such moments stand out as memorable. Admittedly there is a predominant attitude of extreme distaste (polite way of putting it) of cyclists amongst the drivers. I feel this arises from lack of awareness of the law, dislike for the act of cylcing itself (as one driver told me : The last time I rode a bike was 20 years ago .... the worst 15 minutes of my life), and regular encounters with cyclists who flaunt rules and safety.
To get to the crux of my proposal : As part of the initial training all employees of our company go through (or refresher training existing employees go through) , I would like to see a part of it dealing with cycling.
Ideally it would involve taking everyone out on a short bike ride.
Realistically it would probably be a few information sheets that they can take away with them and maybe a youtube vid or two during their training.
At the very least it could be a poster I could stick up in the driver's room (An edited Australian version - quite a few options on "how to not kill a cyclist- I just got to make one obedient to mostly Qld but also NSW law since drivers venture in both areas)
Personally I feel that my experience as a cyclist has changed my attitude as a driver and resulted in actual changes to the the way that I handle my vehicle. I would like to somehow provide others with that experience.
Big hold up for taking time on the training is that the company would be paying for it - in that everyone who attends training gets paid . Due to the nature of gov't grants etc, the company actually make a profit from everyone that goes through training. Adding any sort of component to training is a delicate matter of time vs money. I imagine getting drivers out on bikes during training would also be seen as legal headache for workplace health and safety. I am thinking that it could be possible to scope out a local munificent bike rental shop and maybe even put in a few $ myself to get the helmets but I think the serious hurdles would be the legalities and financing of training on company time. As far as I know, there is nothing even remotely close to this in australia (recall some discussion about it being done in the UK as part of vehicle licensing ).
Feel free to provide links to prove me wrong ....
On the plus side, I know that the person in charge of training is enthusiastic about their field and eager to expand it to make it more engaging, interesting and relevant to the drivers.
There is also a positive PR image that make the whole thing more attractive (imagine a news release about bus drivers riding bicycles as part of training)
There is also a health aspect (vaguely recall a recent gov't funded university study on bus driver health aimed at identifying causes and solutions)
But at the end of the day I can't think of a funding angle that could see this incorporated in training.
anyways I guess this brings us to the realistic option (I guess realistic options are the means to pave the way for idealistic ones) - Providing information sheets and short vids that can be used during training (or at the very least posted up on the driver's board).
I want to use this thread as a catalogue for all the great vids and article info you see posted on this forum so I can collate them into some sort of information sheet or presentation or poster (I used to illustrate childrens books in an off beat humourous style and feel I could pull off some sort of poster relevant to Australian road users ).
Feel free to double up on already existing threads and new ones as they appear to give me the information and resources I need
for instance these recent vids are good
Five Pro Cyclists Reflect on Bicycle Safety
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFZSW_aT ... r_embedded[/youtube]
Share the road - Canadian Video
also a couple of nasty ones could be good
and article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -down.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and also nasty from the other POV
also any relevant info links would be appreciated
How to Not Kill a Cyclist
http://www.themorningnews.org/article/h ... -a-cyclist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I recall a poster (american) also titled "how to not kill a cyclist" someone linked here. It was a PDF.
Link anyone?
Also any relevant links for Australian statistics (cyclist injury/ death) and law pertinent to NSW (recall discussions about it being illegal to ride a bike on the footpath in NSW) and Qld would be helpful.
As you can guess this is still very much at the brainstorming level. Feel free to contribute.
Many Thanks.