Video: National Express ‘blind spot’ sticker spotted – but how useful is it?

GrahamSt wrote:

Scoob_84 wrote:

Premixed concrete doesn't.

And is there are reason that can't be delivered at off-peak times? Or transported in smaller loads? Or mixed on site?

I assume they never use concrete in Paris.
Do they just stick buildings together with ripe Camembert and a gallic shrug?

Cost, the same as why deliveries at night will cost more.
Make someone work nights and you'll have to pay them more typically (especially if they're on an existing contract).
Smaller transport loads push up the cost/tonne overall too.
These prices get pushed on to the consumer (commercial or otherwise).

It's not as black and white as just deciding lorries can only be making deliveries from 2200-0700, you'd be changing a lot of peoples lifestyles and ways of working. Stuff like that doesn't just happen over night, as well as pushing up costs overall.
I think theres a better option around somewhere than night deliveries only, but at some point someone has to pay for what ever happens, and you can be certian in terms of businesses that'll be the customer/consumers.

JeevesBath wrote:

...........

Well, I don't actually live in London nor do a large number of other cyclists. I would still have to deal with the HGVs where I live, unless you are proposing a blanket ban on HGVs across the entire country at peak times every day (not just 'public holidays').

Here here. Apparently despite my ranting about HGV's in West Yorkshire, dickhead drivers are only a problem in London. Mind you the level of peoples cycling ability sometimes leaves me cringing.

JeevesBath wrote:

Well, I don't actually live in London nor do a large number of other cyclists.

Neither do I. The reason I mentioned London is that Bojo the Clown said a while back that he considering such a ban in London:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HofZd9vOchA

And as Chris Boardman says London is a focal point. If you can fix things there then you can roll it out countrywide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-ImMSfNwc

JeevesBath wrote:

I would still have to deal with the HGVs where I live, unless you are proposing a blanket ban on HGVs across the entire country at peak times every day (not just 'public holidays').

All cities and large towns - yes, certainly. Blanket peak hour ban.
The primary danger is in densely populated areas so it makes sense to tackle them specifically.

I'm not sure we could dare go as far as France and ban HGVs on ANY road at weekends and holidays - but that would be a nice bonus.

glynr36 wrote:

Cost, the same as why deliveries at night will cost more.

Yep, it'll cost more, but only because killing people is free.

But the good thing about a free market is that it would adapt to these changes. Competitive companies would soon find ways to lower costs again by rethinking/reorganising their deliveries, making better use of storage, and using alternative transport for inner city delivery.

One thing to think about: how many on-site fatalities does a construction firm think is acceptable when they are building something? How many staff deaths would be acceptable to fill the shelves at a supermarket?

None. Obviously.

So why then is it acceptable for a number of cyclists and pedestrians to be killed in those very same processes?

GrahamSt wrote:

glynr36 wrote:

Cost, the same as why deliveries at night will cost more.

Yep, it'll cost more, but only because killing people is free.

But the good thing about a free market is that it would adapt to these changes. Competitive companies would soon find ways to lower costs again by rethinking/reorganising their deliveries, making better use of storage, and using alternative transport for inner city delivery.

One thing to think about: how many on-site fatalities does a construction firm think is acceptable when they are building something? How many staff deaths would be acceptable to fill the shelves at a supermarket?

None. Obviously.

So why then is it acceptable for a number of cyclists and pedestrians to be killed in those very same processes?

Seems a valid point. "Economic reality" should also include the full costs of things, including all the 'externalities' or its not being based on honest accounting.

In Paris they do not demolish the old buildings and build massive blocks in their place. There is thus less massive muck shift from demolition and less massive material import - the source of the trucks with the greatest propensity to kill & maim. Part of this is because of the weight restrictions on vehicles entering the city.

Large vehicles delivering retail goods generally do not enter the city centre - it simply is not viable for an operator to have £300,000 worth of tractor & trailer grinding around at well below the 80Kph it does on the motorway, eating up the driver's working time, and fuel. These trucks decant into smaller vehicles for distribution, and only the construction industry uses maximum weight trucks - the 4-axle 32T truck being the 'currency', because they can get cheap Class C drivers from agencies to fill the sporadic demand from construction. Class E drivers can get nice regular and clean work on trunk haul 44T trucks, at better rates, and the better drivers naturally go for the better jobs.