London boroughs to clamp down on HGV safety

Waste vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes which are not fitted with cyclist safety equipment could be banned from London, under new proposals announced by the Mayor of London yesterday (January 30).

The Traffic Regulation Order, which would apply to all heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that are not currently legally obligated to impose safety measures, would see vehicle operators required to fit their vehicles with sideguards to protect cyclists from being dragged under the wheels.

It would also require them to be fitted with mirrors giving the driver a better view of cyclists and pedestrians around their vehicles, or face being banned from operating in the city entirely.

The ban, which would be enforced by CCTV cameras and on-street checks, is a hardening of existing punitive powers held by Transport for London and London Councils to reach a quick solution to cyclist safety across all 32 boroughs of the capital.

The London Councils Transport and Environment Committee will decide at a meeting in March whether to create a pan-London regulation order, while a formal consultation on whether to impose the measures could be completed as early as September 2014.

Cause

HGVs weighing over 3.5 tonnes have long been labelled a disproportionate cause of cyclist and pedestrian deaths in London. In 2011, they were involved in nine of the 16 cyclist deaths recorded across the city.

And, in September last year, a female cyclist died following a collision with a Veolia Environmental Services refuse vehicle in West Dulwich (see letsrecycle.com story).

Announcing the proposals, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: In my Cycling Vision, I said that no lorry should be allowed in London unless it is fitted with equipment to protect cyclists. Neither I nor the boroughs have the power to ban lorries without safety equipment on our own.

It was for that reason that I proposed to use a power I do have, to levy a hefty charge on lorries without such equipment. But I am pleased to say that after negotiations with London Councils, we can now combine our powers to propose a simple and comprehensive ban.

Waste contractor SITA UK welcomed the proposals as one way of making cycling safer in the capital.

A spokesman for the company said: “The vast majority of our trucks across the UK are already fitted with cyclist friendly mirrors and sideguards. We did this ahead of any legislation coming in as a common sense approach to safeguard cyclists.

We are completing the process of retrofitting on the last few vehicles so will be ready for the creation of the Safer Lorry Zone in London. We are fully behind the creation of the Zone in London to make cycling safer in the capital.”

‘Direct vision’

Meanwhile, Mike Cavenett of the London Cycling Campaign told letsrecycle.com he would like to see the Mayor go further and include direct vision in his mandatory proposals for waste lorries.

He said: These lorries have larger, lower windscreens and glass doors so the driver can see people walking and cycling in the vicinity of his vehicle. They’re used already by many council waste collection services, and we’d like to see the design rolled out to any vehicle that presents a risk to cycling or walking.

He added: These are low-tech, low-cost solutions, so we foresee no significant impact on the ability of firms to deliver waste collection services in Greater London.