London Cycling Campaign statement - Government Ministers have the chance to save at least 18 lives a year across
the UK by reducing the number of vulnerable road users killed by HGVs.
The Department for Transport is considering responses to consultation on proposals
from Europe to fit safer mirrors to lorries on UK roads. The DfT consultation
underestimated the savings and overestimated the costs. Only by acting quickly
and requiring a full set of new mirrors on older lorries can all these lives
be saved.
The proposals to bring older lorries up to the latest safety standard should
be fully implemented at the soonest possible date, ie. by June 2008 as proposed
by the transport committee of the European Parliament. The Department for Transport
has been aware of the substantial benefits of these proposals since 1999; failure
to act before now has resulted in the preventable loss of a great number of
lives. By their own calculation the DfT proposal to delay implementation could
cost 18 lives a year.
The London Cycling Campaign's Charlie Lloyd said: "We can't understand
why the government hasn't already required lorries to fit safer mirrors as other
European countries have. The evidence that this would save lives of many cyclists
and pedestrians is clear to see but the government seems to be looking in the
wrong direction."
The London Cycling Campaign welcomes the DfT proposal to fit front vision mirrors
which are proven to save pedestrian lives as well as cyclists.
The Government should initiate an awareness campaign as set out by the European
Commission. This campaign needs to be focussed on the behaviour of HGV drivers
as well as other road users. Even with existing mirror systems almost all the
fatalities could have been avoided if the HGV driver had looked in the right
place at the right time.
This call to act quickly is fully supported by London Living Streets working
for pedestrians and the CTC national cyclists organisation.
LCC Website - www.lcc.org.uk
Mhara
