CLOCS starts in Oxford over safety fears

Oxford City Council said it was signing up to new safety standards for construction vehicles to drive down the numbers of deaths and injuries caused by HGVs in the city.

The construction logistics and community safety (CLOCS) standard will require developers of construction sites to plan the movement of their HGVs to keep them away from busy or high-risk areas, as well as setting minimum safety standards for their fleet.

The council’s cabinet decided it would sign up to the CLOCS Standard at a cabinet meeting earlier this month.

Since 2020, four cyclists have been killed in collisions with HGVs in Oxford.

Oxford City Council said that going forward, larger developments in the city would be encouraged to include the more rigorous CLOCS standard in their construction logistics plan before work can start on the site.

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As well as operating in London, the CLOCS standard also exists in Manchester and Cardiff.

Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery at the council, said: “Pedestrians and cyclists have the right to feel safe when they travel around Oxford.

“Becoming a CLOCS champion will drive up standards by requiring larger developers to consider how their HGVs are moving around Oxford, and improve the safety standards of their vehicles.

“We hope this decision will encourage other regulators, developers and fleet operators around Oxfordshire to become CLOCS champions, so that together we can ensure no cyclists or pedestrians are killed or injured by construction vehicles on our roads.”