Transport for London has proudly explained how since 2019, an average of six fewer people have been killed each year and 21 fewer people seriously injured in collisions with Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) being driven on the roads of the capital.

Between 2022 and 2024, the number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in collisions involving HGVs being driven in London dropped by a third compared with the same data from 2017 and 2019, an eye-catching reduction when considering the reduction across the entire road network was just 4.5 per cent.

Transport for London puts this road safety success, at least in part, down to Direct Vision Standard (DVS), announced in 2019 and which came into effect two years later, a scheme which measures how much an HGV driver can see directly through their cab windows.

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A star rating from zero to five is then assigned and any vehicles rated zero, one or two are now required to fit a Progressive Safe System (featuring blind spot cameras, audio warnings and other safety features) in order to get an HGV safety permit to legally enable use in most of Greater London.

Transport for London DVS ratings: The difference in vision between a five-star rated vehicle and a zero-star rated vehicle
Transport for London DVS ratings: The difference in vision between a five-star rated vehicle and a zero-star rated vehicle (Image Credit: TfL)

In a further step implemented last year, all HGVs in excess of 12 tonnes are required to have a minimum three-star DVS rating or comply with the additional safety features to operate in London.

Transport for London's DVS ratings: The difference between a five-star rated vehicle and a zero-star rated vehicle
Transport for London's DVS ratings: The difference between a five-star rated vehicle and a zero-star rated vehicle (Image Credit: TfL)

In the time since DVS has been enforced, TfL tells us there have been 19 fewer deaths and 62 fewer serious injuries involving HGVs being driven on London’s roads.

TfL says that since DVS was introduced, the number of people walking, cycling or motorcycling killed or seriously injured in a collision with an HGV has fallen from an average of 71 people per year in 2017-2019 to 35 people in 2024.

Thankfully, the data does not include any years when traffic levels were impacted by Covid lockdowns, so we do not need to account for that artificially reducing casualty numbers. In fact, when looking at just the three years after Covid measures (2022-24) the number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in collisions with HGVs has dropped by more than a third compared with data between 2017-2019.

Elsewhere, across the entire network, the reduction in the same period was 4.5 per cent.

Naturally, our first question was: has HGV traffic reduced in London during that time? The answer, according to official Department for Transport statistics, is no. HGV miles travelled in London each year have largely stayed consistent throughout. It seems likely too that improved active travel routes, safer junctions and the growth of protected cycling infrastructure across the city has also contributed to keeping pedestrians and cyclists safer.

TfL says that despite the promising signs, more work is needed to keep Londoners safe, especially with an ever-growing number of residents and visitors making use of the boom in hire bikes to get around the city.

Cyclists in London during Tube strike
Cyclists in London during Tube strike (Image Credit: Joshua Garfield)

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“The DVS and HGV Safety Permit Scheme is complemented by extensive enforcement activity, working closely with the police and TfL’s own enforcement teams to help organisations make deliveries safely in London,” TfL said. ”Enforcement teams monitor the road network to confirm that safety equipment required as part of the Progressive Safe System has been fitted and is working correctly.

“The capital’s DVS is a world first and is having an impact across the UK and EU. The work TfL has undertaken with manufacturers has already seen the EU incorporate direct vision into safety standards. The European Commission expects that this, along with other safety measures being introduced, will save an estimated 25,000 lives by 2038.”

Ross Moorlock, CEO of Brake, the road safety charity, said: ”Whoever we are and however we travel, the safety of the vehicles we use is critical to road safety. We know that modern vehicle technology has the potential to have a transformative impact on the number of people killed and injured on our roads and we’re delighted to see TfL taking action to make vehicles safer.”