Thousands of lorries to be banned to protect London cyclists
Posted on in Cycles News
9 cyclists and 66 pedestrians were killed in the capital last year, according to Transport for London. HGVs were involved in 23% of pedestrian fatalities over the last two years and 58% of cyclist deaths.
In response, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is proposing that thousands of lorries could be banned from London to make the roads safer for cyclists.
He wants a rating system from zero to five stars for heavy goods vehicles based on the driver's level of vision from the cab. Only those lorries with a rating of at least three stars would be allowed in to the city by 2024.
There are currently 35,000 zero star-rated HGVs operating in London which would be banned if these changes came into force. But the mayor believes many lorries would be upgraded before the new restrictions come in.
Khan said: "I'm not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London's roads.
"The evidence is clear - HGVs have been directly involved in over half of cycling fatalities over the last two years, and we must take bold action to make our roads safer for both cyclists and pedestrians.
"I'm determined to ensure the most dangerous zero star-rated lorries are removed from our roads completely by 2020."
The London Cycling Campaign welcomed the new initiative.
Spokesman Tom Bogdanowicz said: "Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers and operators of HGVs all stand to gain if modern designs with minimal blind spots become the norm for on-street use.
"No-one wants fatalities and life-changing injuries to continue to happen."