All the world and his dog welcomed the decision by the Mayor of London to ban 35,000 HGVs with the worst driver visibility from London by 2020; we posted something on the subject last week.
Transport for London says:
HGVs make up less than four per cent of the miles driven in London, but were involved in 78 per cent of cyclist fatalities and 20 per cent of pedestrian fatalities in 2015.
They have produced a video and infographic:
Despite the statistics, despite the casualties, despite the evidence, the Mineral Products Association - the trade association acting on behalf of Aggregate Industries et al. that claims that "MPA members are absolutely committed to improving road safety for all vulnerable road users... This is not just talk..." - has already begun lobbying furiously against the changes, bizarrely complaining that banning the most dangerous HGVs - the ones with the worst driver visibility - would hinder road safety, complaining that:
We are very disappointed that the Mayor has unilaterally decided to ban 35,000 HGVs without any obvious discussion with industry on the implications of his decision.
In fact, the MPA is so disappointed - so disappointed that its multinational friends will have to spend some money and introduce HGVs with better visibility cabs helping both drivers and vulnerable road users - that this is how many times they've tweeted the @MayorofLondon since the news broke:
