London Mayor proposes to ban dangerous lorries from the capital’s roads

Thousands of lorries with poor visibility will not be allowed on London's roads to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists by 2020.

This proposal was made by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Transport for London's (TfL) Direct Vision Standard  will use a ‘star rating’ from 0 to 5 stars to rate construction and other heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) based on the level of vision the driver has directly from the cab.

Khan said: ‘I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads.

“The evidence is clear, HGVs have been directly involved in over half of cycling fatalities over the last two years, and we must take bold action to make our roads safer for both cyclists and pedestrians. 

‘I’m determined to ensure the most dangerous zero star-rated lorries are removed from our roads completely by 2020.

“Our ground-breaking Direct Vision Standard will be the first of its kind in the world, directly addressing the issue of lethal driver blind-spots.

"I’m also proud that TfL will lead by example and will not use any zero-star lorries in its supply chain from the new financial year.

“By continuing to work closely with industry, using TfL and public sector procurement and announcing our plans now, I’m confident that many of our lorries will now be upgraded well before the ban comes into place, and the benefits of a new era of modernised and safer HGVs felt by all road users across London.”

Although lorries make up around 4% of the vehicle traffic, recent data shows that HGVs were involved in 22.5% of pedestrian fatalities and 58% of cyclist fatalities on London’s roads in 2014 and 2015.

The new proposal will be consulted shortly.

HGVs that obtain three stars or above, ‘good rating’ in the new Direct Vision Standard, would be allowed on London’s roads by 2024.

HGVs which fail to attain a minimum of three star rating will be banned from London’s streets entirely by January 2020.