Good evening. This morning, I was on my usual route to work. I was in line behind a few cars, making a left from Winsdor onto Main Streets in Cambridge. An 18 wheeler tried to negotiate [an illegal] right on red as I was trying to negotiate my turn & I thought he was going to run me down! I yelled Hey what are you doing! & escaped unscathed.
This is a dangerous intersection. I understand the plight of truck drivers, who must really hate delivering to our medieval streets. Truly, it’s a tough turn to make. However, I only have one life!
I called the fuzz when I got to the office. They were sympathetic but, naturally, could do nothing. They agreed it’s a bad intersection and they sometimes patrol it. I didn’t get a license number. What if I had? Then they would tell the police to keep an eye out, since a driver who does something dumb once may well do it twice. But, as the man said, “unfortunately it’s not illegal to be a jerk.”
I emailed the trucking company. I knew where they had just delivered to, and the name of the company was pasted large on the side of the truck. They called me almost immediately to follow up. Later in the day, a manager had spoken to the driver (who had seen me and apparently wasn’t trying to run me over!), and they called me back. I talked to him a little about trucks and bicycle safety, and he seemed pretty receptive, but I still got the feeling the driver didn’t think he had done anything wrong (or out of the ordinary).
Anyway, all’s well that ends well, and I did my part. I encourage you to do yours if it comes down to it!
In closing, stay safe around trucks. You can’t win in a fight against them. Always assume they can’t see you or won’t see you.
