The Times carried this story today. I don’t know about you but this type of report we could do without. I find the sheer scale of the problem a disgrace. To me it doesn’t matter what you think of cyclists it’s hard to defend this type of negligence & only gives the people that want truck bans more ammunition, if they needed any.
Philip Pank Transport Correspondent
Last updated at 12:01AM, January 6 2014
Two thirds of lorries stopped by police are defective or being driven illegally, police records indicate, raising concerns over the safety of cyclists and other road users.
Heavy goods vehicles are responsible for a disproportionate number of cyclists killed on the roads, and later this year their drivers will be fined £200 for entering London without basic safety equipment under a crackdown launched in the autumn. Ministers say that the scheme will be rolled out across the country if it saves lives, and figures seen by The Times appear to show how common dangerous lorries are.
In the first two months of a police clampdown on the most dangerous construction vehicles, 622 out of the 821 lorries stopped by officers failed to comply with the existing safety rules. Only 32 trucks had mirrors and safety equipment, including bars to prevent cyclists being crushed beneath the wheels, as required by law.
Just 24 per cent of vehicles complied with regulations covering maintenance, how loads are carried, insurance and how long drivers have been on the road. Officers fined 243 lorry drivers for operating without a licence or working long hours, or for driving with insecure loads, broken lights or running a truck that was in poor condition.
Police seized 14 lorries, including an 18-tonne scaffolding lorry whose driver was uninsured and driving without a proper licence, as well as having various mechanical defects on the vehicle.
In an annual update on the work of its specialist unit dedicated to lorries and buses, the Metropolitan Police said that only 30 per cent of the 5,996 vehicles stopped between January and November last year were without defects or were being driven legally.
The figures, revealed in a briefing by Superintendent Rob Revill, provoked claims that not enough was being done to protect people from lorries. The data also revived a debate about banning lorries from city centres at rush hour to save lives.
Martin Key, campaigns manager for British Cycling, said: “This level of law-breaking is disturbing and shows that as a country we have to do a much better job of looking after each other on the roads.
“HGVs are involved in a disproportionate number of collisions with people on bikes and on foot, so we applaud the Met Police for running this targeted operation, which shows a clear and immediate need for greater levels of enforcement.”
Let’s stop trucks going inside the M25, build a load of mini dc’s outside, and have a fleet of 7.5 tonners deliver into London, and then watch as the idiots who make the legislation, take all of the flack when the prices go up.
Let’s stop trucks going inside the M25, build a load of mini dc’s outside, and have a fleet of 7.5 tonners deliver into London, and then watch as the idiots who make the legislation, take all of the flack when the prices go up.
Good answer - beat me to it! I saw this today and smiled. At last a bit of enforcement on suicyclists. Anybody seen if this made the mainstream papers tho?
Why let the truth get in the way of a good story? We’re fair game for a kicking off the suicyclists and let’s be honest it’s been done to death. Cyclists are a powerful voting group so must be protected at all costs.
Muckaway:
“Not complying with existing regulations”…
Underrun bars aren’t law.
Are you sure about that?
Nor on tippers and mixers. This is due to ground clearance issues etc off road, although virtually all mixers have them now. Many large projects specify them to make them look fluffy and caring.
I don’t really see how these issues particularly relate to cycle accidents. I’ve not really seen any reports on them that suggest the collision is a result of maintenance failures or tired drivers. Although I do think it is likely that some of them were preventable with better mirror use and observation by drivers.
Slackbladder:
Ministers say that the scheme will be rolled out across the country if it saves lives,
And the figures to back this won’t be doctored in any way…
I didn’t write that btw, it was in the times newspaper, so it must be correct
I didn’t put this in to be anti trucks & lorries or say anything for cyclists, I just think, as a trucker, why do some drivers go out on the road with vehicles in such poor condition? For 600+ out of over 800 to be found to have faults is a disgrace.
Let’s stop trucks going inside the M25, build a load of mini dc’s outside, and have a fleet of 7.5 tonners deliver into London, and then watch as the idiots who make the legislation, take all of the flack when the prices go up.
At least the cyclists will be safe and happy.
Boris. I hope your watching.
Ken.
…but what will the cyclists do for a job, once all the inner london transport & distribution firms move outside the M25?
Not everyone can be a scummy lawyer, banker, sales rep, human rights watcher, or greenhouth gathes monitorer…
Sounds to me like we need less cyclists and more pro drivers in the house of commons…
Two thirds of lorries stopped by police are defective or being driven illegally, police records indicate, raising concerns over the safety of cyclists and other road users.
It isn’t really a fair picture of lorries overall. The chances are that the lorries in question were stopped for a particular reason. Maybe they looked particularly rough, had obvious faults, or were being driven badly.
I wonder how many cyclist where stopped in this purge for
No lights front or back
No hi viz
Jumping red lights
Driving up the inside of traffic !
Am not anti cyclist far from it but let’s play fair !
Judehamish:
Two thirds of lorries stopped by police are defective or being driven illegally, police records indicate, raising concerns over the safety of cyclists and other road users.
It isn’t really a fair picture of lorries overall. The chances are that the lorries in question were stopped for a particular reason. Maybe they looked particularly rough, had obvious faults, or were being driven badly.
Yeh, that makes sense. Now think of how many cyclists who’ve just bumped someone on a zebra crossing, run through yet another red light, or have defective brakes, lack of high-viz clothing, and don’t even bother with cycle clips around their ankles these days. Oh, then there’s the issue of “no lights at night” as well. How many of those have the police pulled, fined, and banned recently?
