London cyclist deaths: Met warning over HGV 'killing machines'

 

Tributes were today paid to two cyclists killed on London’s roads as the Met police commissioner warned lorry drivers not to let their vehicles become “killing machines”.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe spoke out as friends of an IT entrepreneur killed when his bike collided with a bus at East Croydon station told how he had just launched his own business.

Five cyclists have died in nine days and Mayor Boris Johnson faces demands to speed up plans for segregated cycle routes. An online petition calling for this and other improvements has gathered 14,000 signatures.

South African Roger de Klerk, 43, who lived in Forest Hill, died on Tuesday after a collision with a 410 bus.

Mr De Klerk previously worked for publishing giant HarperCollins and a spokesman said: “Roger was a popular and helpful man and he’ll be much missed by everyone who knew him.” Former colleague Kasia Golebiewska said: “He was a very smiley person and very friendly.”

Today, Sir Bernard told LBC radio that all the deaths would be investigated “to find out if someone is to blame” but echoed Mr Johnson’s call for everyone to obey the “rules of the road”.

A man who died yesterday after a collision with a 205 double-decker bus in Whitechapel is believed to have ridden the wrong way up a one-way street.

HGVs have been involved in eight of the 13 cycle deaths this year and Sir Bernard said: “It is difficult for the drivers. They’re big vehicles, they can’t always see out properly but they’ve got to take a little bit more care.

“When you’ve got such a big vehicle, then obviously they can be killing machines. If you’ve got your own cycle, you’ve got to abide by the rules of the road.”

Dinara Minakhmetova, the sister of Russian technology entrepreneur Venera Minakhmetova, 24, who was killed in a lorry crash at Bow roundabout on Wednesday, said her death showed “that the system isn’t working”.

Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, said: “We simply cannot have Londoners who choose to cycle facing these kinds of risks.”

The petitition is at you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-our-cyclists

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