Safer HGVs showcased at CLOCS

New, safer designs for a range of construction vehicles are on show today at the Construction Logistics and Cycle Safety (CLOCS) event at London’s ExCeL. The event is supported by Transport for London and aims to help improve road safety and better protect cyclists and pedestrians.

More than a dozen HGVs are on display, from manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, DAF Trucks, Scania, Volvo and MAN. They are showcasing new vehicles that reduce deadly blind-spots.

London currently sees 23% of the country's construction output and as construction levels rise an increased focus is being placed on making industry vehicles safer. Between 2008 and 2013, 55% of cyclist fatalities in the capital involved a HGV, a disproportionate number of which were construction vehicles.

CLOCS, which is supported and part-funded by TfL, has seen progress in improving freight safety with the design of safer urban construction vehicles, reducing deadly blind-spots and improving drivers' direct vision, giving maximum visibility of vulnerable road users. The vehicles exhibited this week will be trialled and evaluated by operators and the manufacturers in the coming months.

The Mayor and TfL recently announced that the UK's first Safer Lorry Scheme will begin operation in September. The scheme will ban lorries without safety equipment to protect cyclists and pedestrians from the Capital. The Mayor, TfL and Transport & Environment have also successfully lobbied the European Union on the issue of safer HGV designs. As a result, Members of the European Parliament recently voted to allow longer vehicles across the continent, paving the way for lower driving cabs and improved direct vision of the driver.

CLOCS was created in February 2013 following a TfL commissioned review into the causes of, and the prevention of, collisions between cyclists and the construction sector's transport.

More than 80 organisations from across the industry are members of the programme, demonstrating a clear drive for improved road safety. 

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/26022015/safer-hgvs-showcased-at-clocs-415/