Authority body London Councils has stated that trucks in London need side guards and extended mirrors, but won’t be amending its London Lorry Control Scheme policy to reflect this.
The organisation, which represents 32 borough councils and the City of London, made this assessment in its Transport and Environment Committee meeting to discuss the findings from its consultation on making trucks safer in the capital.
The decision, which has met approval from the Freight Transport Association (FTA), was made as these safety regulations have been incorporated as part of Boris Johnson’s Safer Lorry Scheme set for implementation across the city in the coming months.
London Councils said that while it is not making any amendments to the LLCS, many freight and haulage companies that took part in its consultation process believe these safety features are necessary.
The London Council’s report shows overwhelming support for side guards to be fitted (93%) and extended class V or VI mirrors (92%) from those who took part, with 70% of companies running HGVs supporting both proposals.
The support from freight and haulage companies is reflected by Transport for London’s research, which shows the amount of investment need to make these safety additions is minimal. Those who took part in the consultation process felt they could be compliant with six months.
Christopher Snelling, Head of Urban Logistics at the FTA, said, “London Councils has reached the only sensible decision it could, as its planned changes were due to be overtaken by the Mayor’s Safer Lorry Scheme only a few months later.
“To have two regulatory regimes in London trying to control the same thing would have been unnecessary red tape.”
Another issue raised in the consultation was a change to allow more out-of-hours deliveries to ease congestion on the roads during busier times. However, London Councils came to the conclusion that the current scheme in place is adequate and has no future plans to amend it.
The FTA’s Snelling believes the councils have missed an opportunity to improve safety on London’s roads, and he disappointed that it refuses to revisit the regulation. The FTA also claims the regulation is based on 1980s rules to deter nighttime deliveries and forces hauliers and freight companies to take longer routes to do so.
Snelling added, “Out-of-hours deliveries have safety, emissions and congestion benefits that London could really use. The boroughs that make up London Councils should look again at this out-of-date regulation.”
