I sat on a citizen's jury about cycling a few years ago and one speaker we heard from (in our lead up to working on recommendations) was from the trucking indus

I sat on a citizen's jury about cycling a few years ago and one speaker we heard from (in our lead up to working on recommendations) was from the trucking industry. We knew trucks had poor visibility, that cyclists could get knocked over and swept under the trailer, etc but this guy was an absolute buck-passer and unfortunately he had the rest of the jurors spellbound with irrelevant excuses. He'd admitted that 'skirts' on the side of the trucks would make a difference, but there was zero appetite for that change because obviously it would cost transport companies money. Even just better visibility with the side windows has to be fairly achievable. That said, I have a lot of respect for truckers here in Australia. In my experience, they're some of the more responsible drivers on the road, through sheer mileage and consideration of their heft. They'll almost always signal when it's safe to overtake, through necessity they're wary brakers and so on.