Yesterday at 8.50 am, on Avenue du Mail in Plainpalais, a lorry changed lanes and the cyclist riding alongside it disappeared into its blind spot. She became trapped under the vehicle. It took the emergency services several minutes to free her from beneath the vehicle. She has suffered serious injuries, but her condition is not life-threatening. She is 32 years old.
The blind spot of heavy goods vehicles has for decades been identified as one of the main causes of cyclist deaths in urban areas. In Switzerland, which has been investing in cycling infrastructure for years, 2025 was one of the worst years in terms of road deaths. The comparative data for Europe is clear: Switzerland recorded the largest increase in road deaths across the entire continent. This is difficult to understand for those who assume that better road surfaces automatically mean fewer deaths.
There are sensors, rear-view cameras and wide-angle mirrors. The technology to detect cyclists in the blind spot exists, and many lorries have it fitted. Even so, accidents continue to happen, almost always in the same scenario: a heavy goods vehicle, in a town, turning or changing lanes, with the cyclist out of sight. The investigation concludes that the cyclist was in the blind spot. As if that settled the matter.
For anyone living in Geneva, Zurich, Bern or Basel who cycles to work, this news is not something that happens far away. It’s the same street, the same sort of junction, the same sort of lorry. The debate over whether Swiss cities have expanded their cycle lanes without truly resolving the issue of coexistence with heavy goods vehicles remains open. Not in theory, but in very concrete terms, every morning.