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news
Brexit Flickr Creative CommonsCyclists' safety at risk as government considers using Brexit "freedoms" to ditch EU car safety measures
Britain may use Brexit "freedoms" to ditch planned EU car safety regulations designed to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, the government has said.
While the UK was part of plans to draw up General Safety Regulations, aiming for higher safety standards for cars and lorries, ministers have now hinted they could "capitalise on our regulatory freedoms" to backtrack on implementing the measures.
The regulations include Direct Vision Standard (DVS), hailed as a "world-first for lorry safety" by Transport for London (TfL) when it came into effect in March 2021, before subsequently being adopted by the EU.
> “World-first for lorry safety” as Transport for London's Direct Vision Standard comes into effect
DVS is part of Sadiq Khan's Vision Zero strategy, and requires operators of HGVs to meet safety requirements or face fines.
HGVs of 12 tonnes and above are assigned ratings between 0 and 5 stars depending on how much the driver is able to see out of the cab.
Operators of vehicles assigned 0 stars are required to fit safety features, including cameras covering blind spots, an audible warning when turning left, motion sensors covering the sides of the vehicle at low speeds and a prominent warning on the rear of the vehicle.
But DVS, a requirement to build buses and lorries better designed for drivers to see vulnerable road users, is part of the plans ministers now see in the Brexit "freedoms" firing line.
Asked whether the UK would go ahead with the regulations, transport minister Trudy Harrison insisted no decision had been made.
In answer to a parliamentary question on the issue, transport minister Ms Harrison said: "The package of European measures known as the General Safety Regulation includes vehicle construction requirements covering pedestrian safety and a range of additional new technologies.
"The Department for Transport was involved in developing these requirements, but as they apply from July 2022 it will be for the Government to decide whether to mandate the same systems in GB. No decision has yet been taken.
"The UK’s departure from the EU provides Government with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms. The vehicle safety provisions included in the EU's General Safety Regulation are currently under consideration. Government will implement requirements that are appropriate for GB and where they improve road safety."
And while the measures were finalised when Britain was still part of the EU, because they are being phased in they do not automatically apply.
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats' transport spokesperson criticised the possible scrapping of safety regulations.
"I'm sure that when the Tories promised to 'take back control' people didn't think it meant more dangerous roads and less safe cars," she said.
Requirements for cars and vans to have advanced emergency braking systems, more comprehensive crash tests, and design changes to prevent head injuries for cyclists and pedestrians are also part of the plans now in doubt.
Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, the road safety charity, told The Independent how significant the regulations could be: "The EU proposals, which the UK helped to shape prior to Brexit, provide the biggest leap forward for road safety this century - perhaps even since the introduction of the seat belt.
"We urge the UK Government to commit to adopting these lifesaving regulations, helping reduce needless deaths and serious injuries on British roads."
Interim chief executive of Living Streets Stephen Edwards added: "If we want people to choose cleaner and healthier ways to travel, then we need to improve safety. This means the highest standards for vehicle safety alongside measures that protect pedestrians, including lower speed limits, more effective crossings and better street maintenance."
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
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50 comments
Am I understanding this correctly?
The UK comes up with a safety standard which then gets adopted by the EU as it's a good idea. We leave the EU and then want to ditch our own safety standard just because the EU copied us?
Also, is this thread going to take over from the "thread that must not be named"?
I think this is a complete non story at the moment.
The government have simply pointed out that they can implement the changes if they want to but are not obliged to do so.
Cue hyperbolic headlines.
If the government were to roll back safety measures that would be a big story but at present there's nothing to it.
There probably is some truth in that.
However, instead of posturing about it being the UK's choice, would it not have been much better to say 'Yes, we are supportive of these improved safety measures' and give the manufacturers certainty. The regs are sheduled to come in July 2022, not far away in manufacturing terms.
Yes. But that wouldn't allow them to thump a tub about the "benefits" of being out of the EU. Look at all the rules we can make our own mind up on(!)
As others have pointed out the manufacturers are very unlikely to have two production lines, they'll likely be ready to go with EU compliant models so I doubt the posturing from the government will have any real effect.
I think this is just a bit of political theatre.
If the government had said 'yes we're following the EU regulations to the letter' then the Lib Dems etc would probably have scoffed that there was no point in leaving.
Maybe. Manufacturers do seem to operate with both left and right hand versions of vehicles and some specs are different in different markets, so it is not as black and white as not having two production lines. You won't have two different drive trains and chasis, but if it is an added safety accessory or not it could be different.
PS Was there a point in leaving?
I'm less convinced. Yes they already cater for the left and right hand drive models of most vehicles, but other than the weird Hyundai Veloster most vehicles are symmetrical in their design, so visibility standards will be the same across all left and right hand drive models.
In general spec differences tend to be equipment on the optional extras lists, for example in nordic countries heated screens/seats/steertin wheels tend to be more widely specced than in their southern european counterparts.
Most safety equipment isn't really considered an optional extra. It tend's to be standard across virtually every trim level for every vehicle.
Don't disagree with your comments and I don't claim to be an expert in HGV / bus manufacturing, but I just wanted to show that there are scenarios where if standards are lower in the UK we won't automatically get higher EU standards by default.
In the other direction the global supply model for vehicles also make it hard for the UK Government to use its 'freedoms' to aim for higher standards.
If only the UK could continue to have influence on vehicle safety standards within a bigger market and drive improvements that work for vulnerable road users.
Bien sûr mon ami.
I agree. I am suspicious as to why they haven't made a decision on the regulations yet - I would imagine that going ahead with the planned, improved road safety regulations would be an automatic yes.
You're quite right.
If the best the Brexit blowhards can come up with is 'we might lower vehicle standards and make our roads more dangerous, just because we can', it shows how desperate they are.
Scrabbling around in the dirt looking for illusory Brexit benefits.
Well it can't have been much good if those Continentals liked it.
Look at Johnson, they don't like him either. So he must be spiffing. Or something that sounds like that....
Do we even manufacture HGV's in this country? Scania, MAN, Volvo, Renault, Mercedes are all European? So I'm pretty sure we'll get trucks that meet the EU standard anyway.
DAF still produce here in the U.K. Though they're a Belgian company. Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis are the largest bus manufacturers. I'm sure there's a few others though.
DAF is Dutch, not Belgian. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven.
My mistake. Thanks.
And for that reason, the impact is likely to be limited. However, it seems that those trucks with lower safety scores, maybe the retrofitted features such as extra cameras, external turning buzzers and motion sensors may not be mandatory. So a HGV may roll off the production line slightly earlier for the UK market (knocking over a couple of quality testers along the way).
Yet another thing that Brexit hasn't made any better. Still, I'm bristling with national pride that we can now... um... something or other.
Just more hot air I feel. What about the cars made here that are headed to the EU?
That's nice; the UK only Brexitmobile. Thank god we've taken back control!!! So we can now have two production lines next to each other one producing UK only crap safety roadster and next to it the production line building cars that can actually meet the standards that most countries require.
This is more Brexit BS, they can remove the standard if they so wish, but manufaturers will still build to the standard to ensure they maximise the export market.
More Boris horse manure.
Brexit really is the gift that keeps on taking.
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