On the road to safety
Page 2
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
One of my highlights from this year’s CV Show (in addition to my 5pm visits to the JD Wetherspoon stand) was interviewing parliamentary under secretary of state for transport Mike Penning.
Together with my colleague and CM content editor Laura Hailstone, we discussed: longer semi-trailers (which he described as “my babies”) (see p7); the possibility of a scrappage scheme for trucks to help
stimulate sales of Euro-6 vehicles; Lorry Road User Charging; increasing fuel prices; how pleased he is to still be in the job; the new Mercedes-Benz Actros (which he was about to go for a ride in); in-cab telematics; and cyclists.
Penning had just spent some time with the family of a cyclist who had been killed by a truck, and it wasn’t long before the subject moved onto retrofitting safety equipment to CVs operating in the capital. I told him that, in my opinion, this wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem, and that until cyclists stop jumping red lights and undertaking left-turning trucks, no amount of safety equipment would completely eradicate accidents.
In an attempt to demonstrate just how widespread the problem is, I invited him to spend a couple of hours in the passenger seat of a truck during the London rush-hour. And I’m pleased to say that he accepted. So if anyone out there thinks they have the ideal truck/driver/ route combination, and are interested in helping to educate Mr Penning, then please get in touch with me. Will Shiers