From the London Cycling Campaign Website:-
“Lorry and bus drivers working for a Lambeth Council are receiving training sessions in cycling road safety in a bid to prevent collisions involving cyclists and HGVs.
Drivers of refuse vehicles, school buses and other HGVs run by Lambeth are receiving classroom and practical on-road cycle training to highlight the dangers posed to cyclists caught in lorries’ blind spots.
The council is also installing signs on its lorries and buses warning of the danger of cycling of their inside”
The training, in conjunction with Cycle Training UK, involves drivers riding bikes themselves to give them greater understanding about cycling.
Lambeth is the only London borough to have so far adopted these kinds of measures”
Velochick of South of the River 
Drivers over here in the Netherlands are far more tolerant of cyclists. I think a large part of the reason is that virtually every one of them is also a cyclist.