It's too simplistic to just blame unassertive cycling for a spate of female cyclists killed by lorries

Women are slower cyclists, or don't use gears; they lack spatial awareness, think too much about things other than the road in front of them; "men evolved into hunters that need to be aware of their surroundings, while women evolved into homemakers less reliant on their senses".

These were just a few of the comments, some more gender-stereotyped than others, I prompted when I last wrote for this blog.

In May I described how eight out of 13 cycling deaths in London in 2009 were women killed by heavy goods vehicles, and speculated about why women were vulnerable, suggesting that it may because we cycle less assertively than men.

Since then I've spoken to relatives of the women who were killed and learnt that many were experienced and regular cyclists, not shrinking violets either on the road or off it.

Also, of the drivers who were involved in the fatal collisions last year, two were charged with driving offences, one was illegally in the cycle stop box and one was a hit-and-run.

This seems to show there are more factors than the gender of the person riding the bike behind why HGVs represent 5% of the traffic on London's roads, but cause 80% of the fatal collisions with cyclists.

It's worth noting at this point that while this is, of course, a national issue, the high number of recent such incidents in the capital make it a useful place to learn lessons.

One such potential lesson is this: as well as making cyclists more aware, how can we make HGVs safer to share the streets with bikes?

After her daughter, Alex, was killed by a cement mixer while cycling to work at a City law firm in 2000, Cynthia Barlow bought shares in the company that owned the lorry and successfully lobbied them to have state-of-the-art safety equipment fitted.

Cemex lorries now have extra mirrors that dramatically reduce the drivers' blind spots, as well as sensors along the side of that alert them if a cyclist is alongside and an exterior voice warning which say, "Caution, vehicle turning left". The equipment costs £545 per vehicle. Barlow notes:

At the time my daughter was killed, cement mixers were involved in several fatalities. Since Cemex have fitted the safety equipment there's only been one, where the cyclist was wearing earphones.

The trade association that represents the interests of the transportation industry, the Freight Transport Authority (FTA), has signed up to a programme of pro-cycling initiatives in London led by the city's mayor, Boris Johnson.

However, it does not support the mandatory fitting of this equipment, instead arguing that education of drivers and cyclists is the best way to reduce deaths.

Critics argue that education can only do so much. At the inquest into the death of Meryem Ozekman, a fitness instructor and mother who was killed as she cycled between lessons in April 2009, scaffolding lorry driver Mark Ellis said, "I'm an experienced driver. I'm always checking my mirrors but you can't see all of them all the time."

Amy Aeron-Thomas from the road accident charity RoadPeace says: