Hauliers confused by Transport for London’s (TfLs) new, stricter Direct Vision Standard, due to launch in October, can now turn to an explainer produced by Loughborough University on behalf of TfL.
The explainer has been put together in collaboration with RHA after the association warned TfL the new standard did not make clear what equipment hauliers need to fit to be compliant.
Under the new DVS requirements hauliers operating trucks of more than 12-tonne gross weight must comply with new Progressive Safe System (PSS) criteria in the capital from 28 October.
The new document aims to help operators upgrading their trucks to meet the new DVS requirements by providing a clearer explanation of what they need to fit in terms of the DVS-compliant Blind Spot Information System (BSIS) and the Moving Off Information System (MOIS)..
However, the Loughborough University is stressing that the explainer only clarifies the meaning of the already-published TfL technical specifications in plain language and the reasoning behind them, and does not set out any new requirements.
The team also strongly recommend hauliers test equipment on an operational vehicle before investing and to be satisfied that all use cases for the trucks are included in driver testing.
The warning comes amid mounting evidence that some devices that claim to meet the new Direct Vision Standards (DVS) are infact non-compliant.
RHA welcomed the explainer this week but reiterated its warning that unless TfL extends its grace period for at least a year hauliers will struggle to become compliant in time.
The association said: ”We would like to thank the team at Loughborough University for listening to our feedback to help clarify DVS requirements for hauliers. However, we are still concerned at the timeframes TfL has set our industry to be fully compliant with PSS.
”We are fully committed to helping implement the new standard smoothly and improve safety on our roads, but there are more than 200,000 trucks in-scope needing upgrading amid concerns about availability, volume, affordability and reliability of equipment.
”We’re therefore urging TfL to extend the implementation grace period for at least 12 months to help operators upgrade. We expect officials in London will release a market readiness report in July which will help TfL better understand this picture.
In the meantime, RHA is calling on hauliers to complete its short survey which aims to assess the readiness of operators for the 28 October PSS launch.
