London Aims to Improve HGV-Cyclist Safety

Whether a driver receives his HGV training in Somerset or London, one of the things he is taught is to always pay attention to others on the road – especially cyclists. Now officials in London want to make sure drivers are paying attention to their safety training. To that end, they have instituted a number of new initiatives designed to improve HGV-cyclist safety in the capital.

According to the Economic Voice, both the DfT and TfL will be working together with the mayor and the Metropolitan Police on a number of initiatives, including:

• establishing a task force to go after the small number of reckless HGV operators
• reviewing exemptions to current HGV regulations
• reviewing how changes in driver training might help
• encouraging the EU to speed up its review of potential HGV design changes
• asking Londoners for their views regarding HGV equipment levies.

The main thrust of the initiatives is aimed squarely at HGVs, their owners, and their operators. However, London officials plan to address cyclists as well. The Economic Voice says the DfT and TfL will be working with the Metropolitan Police on enforcement efforts among cyclists. That includes fining riders who jump red lights and engage in other illegal and risky behaviour.

The Metropolitan Police will be equally aggressive in ticketing HGV drivers who do not obey the law. Enforcement efforts are only a small part of the equation, however. Rather than trying to make the roads safer after something has gone wrong, the new initiatives aim to prevent dangerous and illegal behaviour altogether.

The Intangibles

Those of us at the HGV Training Centre hope the new initiatives prove successful in reducing the number of accidents between HGVs and cyclists. However, it must be understood that there are some intangibles that can never be addressed by things like training and enforcement efforts. One of those intangibles is the attitude of safety in the minds of both HGV operators and cyclists.

We offer HGV training in Somerset, London, and all over the UK. Yet we cannot force the driver to adopt a safety first mindset. All we can do is train him in the safe operation of his vehicle. The individual driver is responsible for the mindset he adopts when he is behind the wheel. The same is true for the cyclist.

In order to solve the HGV-cyclist issue in London once and for all, both drivers and riders must come to terms with the fact that they alone are responsible for their own actions. Both drivers and riders must take responsibility for themselves rather than blaming the other.

That said, we certainly encourage all of the safety training one can possibly avail himself of. We also endorse the development of new, high-tech equipment that will give HGV drivers greater awareness of all vehicles on the road. The combination of a proper safety mindset, additional training, and new technology should go a long way toward reducing HGV-cyclist accidents. That’s good for London and all of the UK.