London LGV drivers face cycle awareness training
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
By Derren Hayes
CYCLE AWARENESS training could soon be mandatory for all LGV drivers working on major public building projects in the capital if recommendations by a group of London Assembly members are given the go-ahead.
The Assembly’s transport committee has asked the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to work with local authorities to make driver safety training a condition of future planning and development consent for all borough and mayoral planning schemes.
Although the committee makes no suggestion for when the move should happen, it has asked the mayor, London Councils (the umbrella body for the London boroughs) and TfL to “provide an update by February 2013” .
The recommendation is included in a new report titled Gearing Up – an Investigation into Safer Cycling in London, and comes just a week after TfL confirmed it was looking at plans for a ‘super cycle corridor’ linking east and west London (CM 22 November).
The report includes a number of measures aimed at reducing the number of cyclists injured or killed by LGVs, including improvements to the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (Fors), a free-to-join initiative that offers operators advice on cycle awareness and a grading based on the number of safety measures installed on vehicles. Of the 1,637 operators registered with Fors, only eight have achieved the gold standard – which includes vehicles being fitted with sideguards; a nearside proximity warning system for the driver such as Fresnel lens; CCTV or sensor with an audible external warning to cyclists before turning left; a Class 6 front blindspot mirror; and rear warning signs.
There are still five London boroughs that are not signatories to Fors.
The committee has called for all 33 councils to have achieved gold standard for their own vehicles – and that of all contractors they use – within two years.