The FTA has described Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon's call for a rush hour lorry ban as "short-sighted".

Pidgeon launched her campaign for the ban yesterday (23 February), and also backed current London mayor Boris Johnson's plans to mandate additional passenger-side cab windows for all HGVs operating in the capital.

Speaking yesterday, the Liberal Democrat said: “We’re looking at changing the nature of London’s roads, because too many cyclists are being killed – and pedestrians too.

“I want to make mornings and evenings a more pleasant environment for those vulnerable road users, and this means banning lorries from our roads at these times.”

However, Christopher Snelling, FTA head of national and regional policy, said: “Banning lorries at peak times makes no sense. Deliveries still need to be made, so a medium-sized HGV would be replaced by 10 vans, with increased emissions, congestion, cost and potential injuries to vulnerable road users.

“Rather than ban lorries from our city centres, we need to focus on all aspects of road use to improve safety and pollution for everyone. HGVs can certainly play their part with cleaner Euro-6 engines, revisions to mirrors and sideguards and better cab design.”

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