From 28 October, lorries in London are set to become safer, with fewer blind spots and more technology to help drivers avoid collisions with cyclists and pedestrians due to an upgrade to the existing Direct Vision Standard (DVS) system.
This world-leading intervention is particularly vital given half of all cycling fatalities and 20% of pedestrian fatalities in London involve a lorry, despite such larger vehicles only representing 4% of vehicle mileage in the capital.
Speaking about the new standard, Victoria Lebrec, a lorry crash victim, said:
“Almost ten years ago I was run over by a lorry whilst cycling to work, and lost my leg as a result of the collision. I am certain that had the vehicle had better direct vision, or been fitted with some of the additional safety equipment now required, my crash would have been prevented.
Death and serious injuries involving HGVs have reduced in London since the DVS was introduced in 2021, and I'm hopeful that these new measures will prevent even more. TfL should be commended for this world-first scheme, and I'm grateful to LCC and the other road safety groups who have campaigned for its introduction.”
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DVS determines how effectively lorry cab design reduces drivers’ blind spots. No other city in the world has yet mandated a similar safety standard, and it is backed by evidence that the existing scheme has already helped reduce fatal collisions with cyclists and pedestrians involving driver vision by 75%.
From the 28th, the standard needed for a lorry in London moves from a minimum of ‘one star’ without mitigating sensors and other protective measures, to ‘three star’ vision. And more sensors and other measures are now required of those lorries with below three-star direct vision.
This diagram illustrates the features that must be fitted to any lorry below a Three-Star rating (image courtesy TfL).
While celebrating the new higher DVS standard, LCC is also raising serious concerns about some councils’ inaction on lorry safety, that risks undermining progress towards the Mayor’s target to end road deaths on London’s streets.
A new map published today reveals a postcode lottery on the provision of lorry driver training and support across London’s boroughs, laying bare a dangerously patchy level of support to improve lorry safety.
London Council Lorry Safety Ratings Further Information
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Bexley
Brent
Bromley
Camden
City of London
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Greenwich
Hackney
Hammersmith and Fulham
Haringey
Harrow
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston upon Thames
Lambeth
Lewisham
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Richmond upon Thames
Southwark
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Westminster
The map shows a vast gulf in approach being taken on lorry safety by councils, based on their contracted operators, sub-contractors and planning requirements for road safety around major developments. This includes 4 councils – Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Enfield, and Lewisham receiving a zero rating on LCC’s assessment of their contracts.
While the new three-star DVS standard is mandatory across London, councils can also add planning and procurement requirements to their contracts to ensure their fleet operators and in-house vehicle fleets add driver training, vehicle safety and building site standards.
These are known as “FORS” (Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme) and “CLOCS” (Construction Logistics and Community Safety) and are recommended by TfL and already widely used by many leading haulage and construction firms.
Speaking on the need for councils to go further, Dr Nedah Darabi, lorry collision survivor, GP and Trustee of London Cycling Campaign said:
“I am delighted that the Mayor and TfL have improved the lorry DVS standard and hope this will lead to fewer people like me and their communities being affected by preventable life-changing injuries and deaths.
Unfortunately, there continues to be a patchwork picture of action across London boroughs highlighting the urgent need for every council to do more on road danger, faster. The lorries and drivers in their fleets could easily be made safer tomorrow and failing to do so will lead to unnecessary injuries and deaths.”
More than 4,500 firms that operate lorries are already FORS members and more than 300 are CLOCS “champions”. Yet LCC’s research via Freedom of Information requests, publicly available data and contact with councils found that five councils still do not require (by becoming FORS graded or CLOCS champions) safety standards through their planning or procurement terms and thus receive a zero rating on our new CLOCS/FORS map, while four receive a high rating.
The map rates councils on whether they are either FORS or CLOCS members themselves and/or are using procurement contracts and planning regulations to ensure drivers under their responsibility are well-trained and drive vehicles that have full safety equipment.
Councils are scored on CLOCS, FORS and contract quality from zero to ten and the colouring reflects scores from green (good) to red (poor). We will update the map regularly as councils contact us to confirm new procurement and planning terms.
More information on the new DVS
DVS is an outcome of consistent campaigning by LCC and its members and supporters, who signed multiple petitions and put safer lorries on the agenda of first Mayor Boris Johnson and then Mayor Sadiq Khan.
In 2016 our campaigning won an agreement from Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to get the most dangerous lorries off the road. The DVS standard is the result.
From 28 October, lorries driven in London will have to meet a new, more stringent, safety standard or their operators will face fines of up to £550. The existing DVS permit system that applies to all 12 tonne or larger goods vehicles operating in London moves from a one-star minimum to three-stars.
Vehicles that are not three-star DVS rated will have to have more cameras and alert systems called the “Progressive Safe System” installed. This will improve visibility of people directly in front of and to the left of the lorry as well as preventing false alarms when passing stationary objects.
The first iteration of the Direct Vision Standard (DVS), launched on 1 March 2021, required all operators of large freight and construction vehicles to achieve either a ‘one star’ rating or fit additional sensors, cameras and other measures to increase vision around the cab and/or safety around the vehicle.
The new update to three-stars means operators must now either upgrade their lorries to ones with better direct vision or upgrade their camera and sensor technology to the improved Progressive Safe System.
In other words, not only is the direct vision standard increasing, but the ‘mitigation’ measures are also more stringent.
By installing a Moving Off Information System, required under the PSS regulations, the sensor system will be able to detect all pedestrians shown in the image, green and red, and warn the driver of their presence.
While Three-Star DVS regulations are in force from October 28th, operators who register for a permit before that date are allowed a grace period to install a Progressive Safe System by May 2025.
This is to enable installers to handle the volume of work. LCC and other road safety campaigners successfully argued against an extension of the grace period to 2026.
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