With London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s recent announcement that certain HGVs will be banned from the capital’s roads within the next four years, there is now a very clear statement that vehicle operators and manufacturers are about to experience a significant shift in the future of HGV design.

As part of Khan’s manifesto which put forward the promotion of “safer, cleaner lorries”, his ground-breaking proposal for the world’s first HGV Direct Vision Standard will see all but the highest ‘star-rated’ HGVs removed from London’s roads.

The Standard

The HGV blindspot is regularly cited as a causal factor in fatal collisions. This is hardly surprising given that HGVs cabs are flat fronted, brick shaped, have three windows, six mirrors and still need a blindspot camera system for a driver to see properly. Drivers are now at the point of information overload and we are past the sticking plaster solutions of more or bigger mirrors and the aftermarket fit of technology systems.

The HGV Direct Vision Standard will utilise a star-rating from 0-5 similar to EuroNCAP, depending on the level of direct vision the driver has from the cab. The proposal is to ban zero-star rated HGVs from London entirely by January 2020 and only those HGVs which are three-star and above being allowed to operate in London by 2024. Transport for London and the Greater London Authority will lead by example and adopt the standard in their supply chain contracts much earlier.

There are currently around 35,000 potentially zero-star rated HGVs operating in and around London. These are the vehicle types categorised as ‘off-road’ and traditionally employed in construction operations. It is this vehicle that has been involved in around 70% of cyclist fatalities involving HGVs in the last three years.

In 2015, over 50% of those killed on GB roads are from the ‘vulnerable’ groups and in London the HGV is over-represented in these collisions. Transport for London estimates that up to 25% of the UK’s HGV fleet enters London every single day. Therefore, it is inevitable that whatever measures London deploys will quickly impact on the rest of the country.

HGV design

Political ambition to address this issue isn’t new. Khan’s predecessor Boris Johnson, introduced the Safer Lorry Scheme and consulted on a proposal to require all HGVs to be retrofitted with vision panels in passenger doors. The HGV Direct Vision Standard supersedes this proposal and provides a star-rating system that recognises both the best and worst in class for direct vision. Although this may be seen as a more extreme measure, it is a progressive approach that allows the customer to choose. A bit like the energy-rating for a fridge or the star-rating system for hotels – and who would stay in a zero-star hotel?

Kahn’s announcement highlights the fact that the fundamental design of HGV cabs has not evolved in decades, whilst our city streetscapes have changed dramatically. The numbers of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in our cities is ever-increasing. The road network is becoming more congested and the unarguable fact is that we need 21st century vehicles for 21st century streets.

There is no good reason for vehicles designed with ‘off-road’ capabilities to be regularly operating on heavily congested city streets – both HGV design and the off-road ground conditions they operate on need to change. The good news is that vehicle manufacturers are making a positive contribution to this debate. All of the principal HGV manufacturers supplying the GB market now offer an enhanced direct vision solution. Half offer a high vision low entry vehicle, enabling operators to select vehicles that are suitable for the job.

Steps in vehicle design are being made now but to date, they have been in response to calls from operators to tackle a long standing emotive issue. Vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz Econic and the Dennis Eagle Elite 6 have been collecting waste on urban streets for years but they are now being released to market in a range of operational configurations. Volvo and Scania have also launched low entry, high vision cabs earlier this year – this is all in direct response to operator demand and in anticipation of London flexing its regulatory muscle. However, manufacturers need to be more proactively involved so that they aren’t simply reacting to demands of their customers, but are working to help by providing solutions to address the current issues AND the immediate issues of the future.

In light of Sadiq Khan’s announcement there have naturally been calls from industry groups, operators, cycling campaigners and others all seeking to share their views on the potential impact of the new HGV Direct Vision Standard. For some this is a step too far, for others it will never be far enough.

We have the potential for collaborative, ground-breaking change. Industry needs time to adapt and to get the solution right, but manufacturers, operators and those employing HGVs in their supply chains need to embrace this change.

It is also time for pressure groups and the cycling community to recognise the important and significant investment the vehicle manufacturing and logistics industry is making to improve the safety of the most vulnerable road users.