The Bank of England made history by slashing interest rates to an all-time low of 1.5 per cent
More...
10,000 lorries are given mirrors to save cyclists' lives
David Williams, Motoring Editor11.03.08
Lorry drivers in London are being handed 10,000 safety mirrors free of charge to help them spot cyclists.
It is a victory for the Evening Standard which demanded the mirrors in its Safer Cycling campaign.
Transport for London will this week hand out the devices, at a cost of around £40,000, to HGV drivers operating in the capital. The "Fresnel lenses" help drivers spot cyclists in their "blind spot", especially when turning left.
TfL says the campaign will tackle the biggest cause of cycle fatalities in the capital. More than half of all cycle deaths on London roads follow collisions with goods vehicles.
Jenny Jones, the Mayor's Road Safety Ambassador, said: "This is one of those simple ideas which will make a huge difference to Londoners' lives. It is a relatively cheap way for lorry drivers to avoid stress for themselves and death and injury to others. All lorries in London should have these lenses and all drivers should be reminded regularly to use them."
David Brown, Managing Director of Surface TfL, said: "Our new cycle safety campaign is designed to give both cyclists and goods vehicles drivers the tools they need to be safe and be seen on London's roads."
The decision to give away the lenses - costing £4 each - was welcomed by the London Cycling Campaign and the Freight Transport Association.
LCC spokesman Charlie Lloyd said: "We urge all freight operators in London to use these lenses which will help drivers see cyclists on their left side and remind them of their responsibility to ensure the safety of all vulnerable road users. The next step is for the Department for Transport to expedite fitting of EU standard safety mirrors on all large lorries in the UK."
To get the safety message home, TfL is launching a TV ad highlighting the dangers that trucks pose to cyclists.
It is also handing bicycle riders windup bicycle lights to make them more visible, while promoting free or subsidised adult cycle training.
Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "Cycling in London is getting much safer but one issue that has been very difficult to address until now is the fact more than half of cyclist fatalities on the capital's roads involve a collision with a goods vehicle. These safety lenses are a simple measure that will help drivers to see cyclists."
The Evening Standard demanded cycle safety mirrors in trucks in its 12-point charter calling for better safety and security for the capital's cyclists. The campaign was launched in April last year.
According to TfL, one cyclist is killed or seriously injured on the capital's roads each day.
Link to:
Reader views (21)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Once again we treat the symptoms and not the cause! Its lorry drivers I feel sorry for a they will have to live with the cyclists actions for years to come.
I commute through London every day. I see cyclist putting themselves (and others) at risk time and time again. A lot of cyclists are nothing but a menace on the capitals roads and paths! I'm pleased the Met Police are now starting to prosecute them. Its long overdue!
- Rex, Basildon, Essex
Gosh don't people get cross when cyclists are mentioned! Adult cycle training would take care of almost all the complaints. The chap who uses all the cycle lanes and still gets trouble would learn that you need to judge each cycle facility on its usefulness and safety before deciding whether to use it or not. All would learn that going up the inside of a lorry, or actually waiting at a junction in a place on the road that allows a lorry or any driver to come up wait beside you is asking for trouble. And that anticipating and moving position so that you are seen and can see ahead and behind at all times makes cycling easy, empowering and safer. Motorists prefer it too if you don't disappear into gaps and appear again without looking behind and if you cycle in straight lines and signal clearly having checked to see if your change of direction is possible.
- Veronica, Bristol
I'm glad that some sensible safety precautions for cyclists have come in, can we now have some sensible safety precautions from cyclists too? It is a minority, but I'm afraid it's not a small one, that considers 1-way roads 2-way for cyclists, red lights at pedestrian crossings optional and pavements a cyclists right of way.
I note your picture, a cyclist at a safety event, wears dark clothes on a dark bike, without safety equipment or reflectors. He may show up in the wing mirror at the time of the photo but moment he moves into the shadow of a tree/building/van he becomes invisible, before joining the choir invisible! {Cough, cough, cough!}
- Ian, London
