Driving lethal lorries off the streets of London

London Cycling Campaign is hoping to raise £20,000 to boost its No More Lethal Lorries campaign.

According to LCC, HGVs are responsible for half the cyclist deaths in London, and numbers aren’t falling, even though road safety overall is improving.

Roughly one cyclist a month is killed on London’s roads. Victims this year include:

• A 46-year-old professor of Hispanic studies, run over by a left-turning lorry near Tower Bridge
• A 21-year-old medical student killed on his way to Guy’s Hospital
• A 28-year-old charity worker, also a talented musician, crushed to death on a roundabout in Hackney
• A middle-aged father of three young children, killed by a cement mixer in Pimlico

Only last Friday another cyclist was seriously injured by an HGV in Borough.

The road.cc archives show that there were also several high profile cases last year, each of which demonstrates the danger presented by HGVs and the need for action.

Last year’s 13 cyclist fatalities on London’s roads included 24 year-old student Maria Fernandez, who died when a bin lorry crept into the green bike box at the lights and turned left, dragging her under its wheels, 30 year-old Eilidh Cairns, who died in Notting Hill on her way to work, and 39 year-old Catriona Patel, an experienced cyclist who was training to ride L’Etape du Tour when a cement lorry turned left across her path. The lorry driver was using his mobile at the time and didn’t see her.

The money raised through the appeal will be used to boost LCC’s campaigning, led by the group’s HGV safety expert Charlie Lloyd, who is pressing decision-makers to accept LCC’s five-point danger-reduction plan.

Cyclist-awareness training for drivers
All city lorry drivers should be have ongoing cycle-awareness training, including on-bike experience.

More responsibility on drivers
Authorities must recognise driver responsibility for doing everything practical to reduce risks. Blaming a ‘blind spot’ should be an admission of guilt.

Safer lorry design
Lorries designed for off-road use should be taken off city streets. The best mirrors, cameras and sensors should be fitted as standard.

Higher-quality operators
Quality-assurance schemes such as London’s Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) should be mandatory, and the police encouraged to crack down on rogue operators.

More responsible procurement
Companies must only buy haulage services from reputable firms, with government taking a lead in encouraging best practice.

The LCC says some progress has been made in the area of compulsory cycle-awareness training. This kind of training is already standard in the borough of Lambeth, and similar on-bike training is expected in Southwark and Hammersmith & Fulham.

In a message to LCC members chief executive Ashok Sinha says, “Too many cyclists are killed by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in London and decision-makers aren’t doing enough about it.

“Please donate whatever you can afford, however small. It’s only through the backing of cyclists like you that LCC will be able to stop more cyclists from being killed by large lorries in London.”

Donations can be made via the LCC website. Also on the site there's a petition calling for compulsory cycle-awareness training for lorry drivers.