Cycling awareness in Merseyside

Arriva Merseyside and a number of partners joined forces to host an event at Liverpool University on the dangers of cycling within buses’ blind spots. Representatives from Merseytravel, Sustrans, Sefton Council, Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police supported Arriva at the University campus to highlight the issues bus drivers encounter with cyclists travelling within their blind spots and to raise awareness amongst cyclists about staying safe when moving around buses. The event, which was aimed at both pedestrians and cyclists, encouraged attendees to sit in the driver’s cab of a bus and comment on what they could see in the previously designated ‘hazard’ areas where others were congregated.

Risk Manager for Arriva Merseyside, Collette Atkinson, commented, ‘Many people do not fully comprehend the difficulties bus drivers encounter when trying to navigate safely around the many different types of road-users who they share the streets with. This event allowed cyclists to see things from a driver’s perspective. Everyone who sat in the cab was quite shocked at how close a cyclist could be to the bus without being seen in the mirrors.’
The company plans to arrange a similar event next year.