Operators continue to face frustration and uncertainty over what the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) will look like when applied to the truck market.
TfL’s proposed DVS will rate trucks over 12 tonnes on a scale of zero to five depending on the level of visibility the driver has from his seat.
By 2020, all zero-rated trucks will be banned from the capital, and by 2024, only those with a three-star rating or above will be permitted entry.
The aim of the scheme, proposed last year by London mayor Sadiq Khan, is to improve safety for vulnerable road users and remove what he terms “dangerous lorries” from the capital’s roads.
But a vital component of DVS – the star rated list of models – has still yet to be published.
Both the FTA and RHA have warned the lack of detail available to the industry is delaying what the London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), now planned for April 2019, is hoping to achieve.
Natalie Chapman, head of policy for London, South East and East of England at the FTA, said: “This is causing a huge amount of frustration and uncertainty.
“The point of the ULEZ is to increase the uptake of Euro-6. But this lack of clarity is having the opposite effect because people aren’t buying new trucks.”
She added with only two and a half years until the deadline, manufacturers may struggle to meet demand once vehicle lists are published, particularly if specialist bodybuilding is needed.
The RHA, in its official ULEZ consultation response, published last month, said the lack of DVS vehicle information has “placed the industry in an almost impossible position” to start adapting to the ULEZ proposals.
Tottenham-based haulier O’Donovan Waste Disposal said the misalignment of the two London consultations has “without a shadow of a doubt” stalled the company’s fleet purchasing plans.
“How can we place an order when we don’t know what the standard looks like?” asked MD Jacqueline O’Donovan.
The good news for the industry is that TfL has confirmed the data gathering is complete, with Euro-6 truck lists due imminently.
Ben Plowden, director of surface strategy and planning at TfL, said: “It took longer than anticipated to gather all the required direct vision data. However this has been completed and the first DVS look-up list will be published as soon as possible.”
TfL is due to complete an impact assessment this autumn. By spring 2018 a statutory consultation on the appropriate regulatory measure, to enable a ban or restriction, will be launched.
