Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has written to the Mayor of London, and Robert Goodwill MP, Minister for Transport urging them to keep up their efforts to make our roads safer for cyclists. She has also welcomed the announcement that the UK’s first ever safer lorries scheme will go live across Greater London from 1st September.
Commenting, Ms Villiers stated “As a cyclist, I fully appreciate the health and environmental benefits of cycling. People can also save on the cost of travel by switching to the bike for shorter journeys.”
“But if cycling is going to become a natural choice for many more short journeys, we need to do all we can to keep our roads as safe as possible. That’s why I have raised cycling safety with the Mayor and with the Government. I welcome the commitment shown by the Government to this issue, including the Bikeability scheme which provides cycle safety training in thousands of schools across the country. I want to see this cycle training programme continue into the next Parliament.”
“I am urging the Mayor to continue to tackle the risks HGVs pose for cyclists. HGVs are disproportionately represented in cyclist fatalities in the capital. Of the 14 cyclist deaths in London in 2013, nine involved HGVs. The number of serious collisions involving cyclists and HGVs in 2014 decreased, but it remains vital to reduce the risks to cyclists in the capital. So I welcome the fact that the Mayor is introducing new rules in September which require all lorries on the roads in London to have improved safety equipment which cuts the risk of cycling collisions. I campaigned for this change to be made.”
In February, Boris, TfL and London Councils gave the go-ahead for a London-wide ban on any lorry not fitted with safety equipment to protect cyclists and pedestrians. The scheme, which will cover all roads in Greater London for 24 hours a day, will commence operation on 1 September, as soon as all of the 600 warning signs are in place on the road network.
New, safer designs for a range of construction vehicles have been unveiled as part of the freight industry’s efforts to improve road safety and better protect cyclists and pedestrians. Construction Logistics and Cycle Safety, which is supported and part-funded by the Mayor and TfL, has seen progress in improving freight safety with the design of safer urban construction vehicles, reducing deadly blind-spots and improving drivers’ direct vision giving maximum visibility of vulnerable road users. The vehicles will be trialled and evaluated by operators and the manufacturers in the coming months.