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Three London mayoral candidates express support for CTC lorry campaign

CTC asking for widespread introduction of direct vision lorries

The Green Party’s Sian Berry has become the latest London mayoral candidate to express support for CTC’s lorry safety proposals. She joins Liberal Democrat candidate Caroline Pidgeon and Labour’s Sadiq Khan in backing calls to move towards widespread uptake of direct vision lorries.

According to the Campaign for Better Transport, so-called ‘direct vision cabs’ would increase the driver’s field of view in front and to the sides of a lorry by 50 per cent.

CTC is urging Transport for London (TfL) to adopt a road map for their widespread introduction. The road map would make their use a contractual requirement by 2020 for TfL and the boroughs, with a commitment to ban lorries which do not meet direct vision standards from London roads by 2025.

On Monday, Berry described it as “scandalous” that vehicles with poor vision, designed for use on construction sites, were routinely driven on our streets. “It is also unfair on the drivers to expect them to drive through crowded city streets without a clear view of the people on the street alongside them,” she added.

Earlier this month, Pidgeon also declared her support for the proposals. Making reference to cyclists “fighting for space with HGVs and construction vehicles,” she said that despite some of TfL's positive initiatives in recent years “more must be done.”

Although Khan’s mayoral manifesto is unclear on timescale, he does promise to promote safer, cleaner lorries - “working with the boroughs and using City Hall procurement to set new safety standards, moving towards City Hall and TfL contracts specifying ‘direct-vision’ lorries.”

CTC says it will be asking him to clarify timescales if he does not agree with those proposed in its roadmap.

Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith is now the only representative from the four main parties who is yet to commit. CTC has again written to his campaign team asking him to clarify his position.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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jollygoodvelo | 8 years ago
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Fifty years ago there were many trucks with what now seems to be called "direct vision" - e.g. the Leyland FG:

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Why is it so hard to get back to this?

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severs1966 | 8 years ago
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"Although Khan’s mayoral manifesto is unclear on timescale, he does promise to promote safer, cleaner lorries"

Promises made without a target date are lies. "Promoting" something is not the same as making it a legal requirement (much less one that is policed) or even an official recommendation.

Add these together and you will see that Mr Khan has no intention of changing lorries in any way, but is implying that he has in order to seem bike-friendly.

Politicians standing for election say a lot of things, and most (if not actually all) of those things are lies.

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harrybav | 8 years ago
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Will longer lorries be safer? That's what is on the table in October, at the EU - longer lorries being made legal, supposedly so that they can then start using that space to add safer design elements.

This campaign, such as it is, would have zero traction if it involved shorter lorries rather than longer lorries. I think lorries in a decade will have token improvements but be 2m longer.

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zanf | 8 years ago
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The CTC campaign should include all HGV drivers having to experience a few close passes such as the Brazilian bus drivers have to

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