The death of a woman killed in a collision with a construction lorry in central London earlier this month has triggered the Government to set up a working group to combat HGV danger in UK cities.
Stephen Hammond, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Transport told a reception for the publication of the Get Britain Cycling report that the death of Dr Katherine Giles in Victoria Street had triggered a meeting with Sir Peter Hendy, London’s Commissioner for Transport, and an agreement to set up the working group.
Hammond said: “We cannot continue to see deaths from HGVs. Peter and I have agreed to set up a group looking at the effect of HGVs in cities and safety for cyclists.
“This can no longer continue - we need to do more to make people aware both among cyclists and HGV drivers and Peter and I will be pushing that through as a direct result.”
Lorries are involved in half of cyclist fatalities in London even though they make up just five percent of traffic.
There have been moves to make lorries safer fitting vehicles with sensors and warning technology and courses to improve driver awareness.
Also in the aftermath of Dr Giles’s death, Boris Johnson reiterated a call to ban lorries from busy city centre roads during peak hours, a plan opposed by the Freight Transport Association.
The London Cycling Campaign also proposed a radical new vehicle design that made the windows bigger and lowered the position of the driver, as shown in this video.
Safer urban lorry to reduce cycling deaths