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New London Cycling Campaign video aims to make a powerful point about Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling Campaign (+ video)

Boroughs urged to support pledge; LCC says lorries are 5 per cent of London's traffic but account for half of cyclist fatalities...

London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has released a video as part of its campaign to urge the city's cyclists to ensure their local councils sign up to its Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling pledge. According to LCC, lorries make up 5 per cent of London's traffic but account for 50 per cent of cyclist fatalities in the capital. You can contact your council to ask them to sign up using LCC's letter writing tool here.

The video was produced with the help of money from a major LCC donor and is directed by award winning film maker Klaus Thymann - he described it on Twitter as "my best charity piece to date" - with music from Alexis Taylor of the Grammy Award nominated electronic band, Hot Chip.

Earlier this month, LCC said that only two of the 33 local authorities in London had fully complied with its Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling pledge - the graphic above from LCC shows those boroughs in green, with amber representing those that have made some progress, and those where almost nothing has been done.

The pledge asks London's 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation to make the following commitment:

"We'll work to improve the safety of every Londoner by only signing new contracts with the safest haulage companies, which conform to the London Cycling Campaign’s Safer Lorries conditions. We also pledge to ensure our council-operated services meet the same standards."

Those standards are that all lorries, used by the council, its contractors and their siub-contractors will have:

A close-proximity warning system (visual or audible) to make the driver aware of cyclists and pedestrians who might hidden from view.This can include an appropriate CCTV camera or Fresnel lens where this provides an adequate alternative.

A Class VI mirror, sideguards, and prominent signage on the rear of the lorry warning cyclists not to undertake.

An external warning device to ensure nearby road users are aware of a planned manoeuvre.

The haulier will be a member of a reputable best-practice safety organisation, FORS or equivalent.

The pledge also requires that all drivers have:

A driving licence check with the DVLA (before starting on a contract), with their licence being rechecked regularly.

Taken the Approved Driver Training within 60 days of the contract starting, unless they’ve had this training within three years. The training must include TfL’s Safe Urban Driving course, with on-bike hazard-awareness training.

Passed a FORS e-learning Work-Related Road Safety module (or an approved equivalent) at least every 12 months.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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Viro Indovina | 11 years ago
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Not half as compelling and clear as the drink driving ads they have swiped. Skirts around the issue of helmet safety, but the use of a single actor (male, in suit) also robs the spot of emotional vitality since portraying a female or a young (and even a few olds) would have added to the emotional punch.

I understand the soft sell, and the creative gap theory (that leaving something for the viewer to "complete" makes for a better add, since the audience becomes part of the process), but this could have been done by other camera / editing tricks; ones that also framed some of the problems and their solutions (vehicles get closer to the corner on inside turns, motorists have blind spots, it takes longer to stop a lorry than a cycle, etc) clearly and immediately. Thus we'd get vital info and advice.
A slow motion ballet of broken bottles and bouncing fruit isn't good enough for this brief.
They need to call the Rudy Wells of public service announcements, as this campaign needs to go harder, faster and stronger.

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fluffy_mike replied to Viro Indovina | 11 years ago
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I can't see a man in a suit - the person has trainers on

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jezza666 | 11 years ago
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I am a cyclist for pleasure, and a truck driver by profession. This is all wrong, stop showing these videos to unprotected cyclists and find a way to truck/bus/car drivers who feel safe in their metal boxes. All cyclists know the dangers, but are NOT responsible for the failures of other road users.

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cidermart | 11 years ago
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I do hope it works to get the councils to sort their act out and lorries in general because enough is enough.

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