Following the news that all HGVs without safety equipment are to be banned from operating in London from September, dozens of trucks with improved safety features have been unveiled at a Clocs demonstration event in London today.
Marques including Mercedes-Benz, Daf, Volvo, Scania and MAN have developed vehicles that improve visibility and reduce blind spots. They are display at today’s event at London’s Excel and will be evaluated by operators and their manufacturers in the next few months.
With almost a quarter of the UK’s construction taking place in London, the industry is focused on making trucks in the capital safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Clocs advocate TfL claimed that over half of cyclist fatalities in London between 2008 and 2013 involved an HGV, with a significant amount of those vehicles working in the construction industry.
Sir Peter Hendy, London’s transport commissioner, said: “Every death and injury on our roads is a tragedy and ruins lives. At TfL we are reducing these wherever possible, and are proud to be a supporter and funder of Clocs, which has been making great progress to make all road users safer.
He added: “The new vehicles on show today, with massively reduced blind-spots, show what can be done if people join together for a common good to solve a simple problem. We will continue our work to improve freight road safety in all aspects, be it collaboration, regulation, enforcement and lobbying, to create a capital fit for freight, and freight fit for the capital.”