Standard For Construction Logistics Will Help To Improve Road Safety In London

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has backed a new initiative aimed at improving road safety in London.

A number of construction and logistics businesses have joined forces with Transport for London to come up with a single safety standard for the owners of large construction vehicles to follow.

Concerns have been raised about the amount of cyclists who have been killed in collisions involving a lorry.

There had been calls for HGVs to be banned from the streets of London during peak times, but this would place a huge amount of strain on logistics businesses.

Instead, it is hoped the Standard for Construction Logistics will help to cut the number of collisions between trucks and bikes.

Essentially, it will ensure that safety considerations do not end once lorries have left the boundaries of a construction project.

Christopher Snelling, FTA's head of urban logistics policy, believes this is a good example of the correct way to proactively tackle safety issues and these measures have not been introduced simply to "grab headlines".

"A specific focus has been identified - tipper lorries used as part of construction logistics are involved in a relatively high proportion of cyclist fatalities," he commented.

"The development of this standard, and the commitment to it by many major companies, demonstrates how seriously the logistics industry takes cyclist safety."

Mr Snelling added these new measures are only "part of the way forward" in improving road safety.

He insisted that high levels of enforcement against firms that fail to comply with UK regulations need to be maintained and the amount of quality training that drivers receive should also be assessed.

Additionally, the FTA representative thinks cyclists should be educated on road safety and must also ensure they are wearing bright clothing when out on the streets.

London's transport commissioner Sir Peter Hendy said the construction industry has worked hard to raise safety standards across the board and he has urged companies elsewhere in the UK to adopt the new vehicle standard.

Expert Opinion

We welcome any news that is aimed at improving road safety in the capital, especially in light of the recent tragedies involving cyclists killed in collisions with vehicles. <br/> <br/>“Through our work we have seen how serious injuries on the roads can be caused by a range of factors, such as irresponsible driving and poor quality infrastructure. <br/> <br/>“However much work is being done across the UK to improve road safety and this is another significant step towards reducing accidents, especially for cyclists in London.” <br/> Stephen Nye - Partner