Mayor to ban ‘dangerous’ HGVs from London streets

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today (30 September) announced proposals to remove some ‘dangerous’ heavy goods vehicles from the city’s roads by 2020 — in a bid to encourage cycling in the capital. 

Through TfL’s Direct Vision Standard, ‘off-road’ HGVs such as tipper trucks or cement mixers will be assigned a ‘star rating’ from 0 to 5 based on the level of vision the driver has directly from the cab, under plans to be consulted on shortly.

Vehicles such as cement mixers will need to achieve ‘3’ rating or more under TfL’s Direct Vision Standard to continue to operate in the capital, under plans to be unveiled by Sadiq Khan

Under the plans, only HGVs meeting 3 stars or above — ‘good rating’ in the new Direct Vision Standard — would be allowed on London’s roads by 2024.

According to the Mayor’s Office, HGVs were involved in 22.5% of pedestrian fatalities and 58% of cyclist fatalities on London’s roads in 2014 and 2015, despite only making up 4% of the miles driven in the capital.

It is estimated that around 35,000 zero-star-rated ‘off-road’ HGVs are currently operating on the city’s streets, which it is claimed were involved in around 70% of cyclist fatalities involving HGVs in the last three years.

Evidence

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads. The evidence is clear — HGVs have been directly involved in over half of cycling fatalities over the last two years, and we must take bold action to make our roads safer for both cyclists and pedestrians.

“I’m determined to ensure the most dangerous zero star-rated lorries are removed from our roads completely by 2020. Our ground-breaking Direct Vision Standard will be the first of its kind in the world, directly addressing the issue of lethal driver blind-spots. I’m also proud that TfL will lead by example and will not use any zero-star lorries in its supply chain from the new financial year.”

Cllr Julian Bell, chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, said: “I welcome this announcement from the Mayor to do more to minimise the risk posed by lorries to pedestrians and cyclists on our streets.

“We need to encourage as many people as possible to cycle and walk where they can, to better improve our chances of tackling key priorities such as congestion and improving air quality and the health of Londoners.”