A woman in her late 30s is suffering from serious injures after a collision between an articulated truck and her bicycle this afternoon in Dublin.
The truck driver was crossing Charlemont Bridge, a humped bridge on the Grand Canal. At this time we are unable to confirm the direction of travel of the woman on the bicycle.
It is understood that the injuries were mainly to the woman’s legs. Images on social media and on media websites show the bicycle under the front wheel of the truck.
A Garda spokesman, Sean Mac Seoin, said: “Shortly after midday a female cyclist aged in her late 30s was seriously injured when she was struck by an articulated lorry at the junction of Grand Parade and Ranelagh Road. The cyclist was treated at the scene by emergency services personnel and removed by ambulance to St James’s Hospital. Her injuries are understood to be serious. The lorry driver was uninjured.”
He added: “A technical and forensic examination of the scene has been completed by Garda forensic collision investigators and the road has since been reopened to traffic.”
An eyewitness of the aftermath, Thomas Kelly, said on Twitter: “…cyclist hit by a truck. About an hour ago. Looked pretty bad when I went past. They were treating him/ her on the road.”
The truck was a large five-axle articulated heavy goods vehicle, with an open top tipper trailer. While it was exiting the five-axle ban area, the ban is not fully restrictive and permit holders are allowed to make deliveries or collections from sites and businesses within the area.
Witnesses with information on the collision are asked to contact Donnybrook Garda Station 01-6669200 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
IMAGE: Thanks to Colm Walsh
ALSO READ: HGV blind spots and how to share the road with trucks
CLARIFICATION: This article originally implied — without blame — that the collision was a common right hook collision where a bicycle and a truck are traveling in the same direction before the truck turns left. However, as we do not have enough facts or official comment to say if it was or was not a left hook collision, we have removed short sentences relating to this issue. We apologise for any confusion caused.
...That's the end of the article. Keep scrolling if you want to the comments, but IrishCycle.com *NEEDS* readers like you to keep it that way. It only requires a small percentage of readers to give a bit each month or every year to keep IrishCycle.com's journalism open to all. Thank you.
Sad news, thoughts are with her and her family. Dublin Inquirer was highlighting safety issues with the Portobello bridge just today as well :(( https://www.dublininquirer.com/2016/03/23/danger-cyclists-heres-place-avoid-part-iii/
Hi am the cyclist involved, the investigation is being handled via Pearse Street, not Donnybrook. If anyone can hep please do, Please do I don’t remember much and I am sure same goes for driver.
These impacts should not be happening as they are essentially avoidable. The key issue is the huge mass of these rigs in relation to a 15 kg bike and the fatal flaw in the design of the cab such that the driver’s view is so restricted with its extensive blind ZONES (not ‘spots’ as apologists for these rigs keep uttering).
The European Cyclists’ Federation (of which Cyclist.ie – The Irish Cycling Advocacy Network – is the member for Ireland) tried to lobby with the EU Commission last autumn to have the manufacturers forced to redesign the rigs so as to markedly improve the view from the cab. The manufacturers refused to do this. It is important for cyclists to understand and reject this stance. One of our MEPs from Ireland tried to assist us in this effort.
For close-quarters operation in congested urban areas the only safe solution is for road authorities to insist that (1) an access control permit system be in place [why is Dublin City the only place to have a permit system?] (2) the permit condition requires a co-pilot in the cab and (3) no left turns permitted on the routing.
There are a huge number of 3-/4-/5-axle rigs running freely around our urban areas with the construction boom so it is time to impose stricter controls on their operation. Many are travelling far too fast for road conditions (cyclists present).
The Health & Safety Authority (HSA) now needs to look at its advice to operators of these rigs and require them to undertake fresh risk assessments for their use in urban areas. These rigs are being used for work purposes and so the risk assessment needs to be undertaken in the light that the driver’s view from the cab is so restricted. The risk control measure clearly has to be that a co-pilot must be present to act as a second pair of eyes/ears for the driver.
Those unfortunate riders who have been killed or maimed by the owners of these rigs deserve this policy response from all road authorities and the Health & Safety Authority.