We have posted on the issue of safer lorry design before, how CEMEX continues to add Econic tippers to its fleet, how Safer HGVs are beginning to be deployed outside of London, and have asked What’s Aggregate Industries doing to improve truck safety?
The issue of safer lorry design has recently been brought to the fore again – as unlikely as it may seem, in Boris Johnson’s resignation letter.
This blog normally steers clear of politics – it’s just too depressing – but, and as widely pointed out by Full Fact (the UK’s independent factchecking charity), road.cc, the FT and others, "Boris Johnson lied about EU safety regulation in his resignation letter". His letter claimed:
It now seems that the opening bid of our negotiations involves accepting that we are not actually going to be able to make our own laws. Indeed we seem to have gone backwards since the last Chequers meeting in February, when I described my frustrations, as Mayor of London, in trying to protect cyclists from juggernauts. We had wanted to lower the cabin windows to improve visibility; and even though such designs were already on the market, and even though there had been a horrific spate of deaths, mainly of female cyclists, we were told that we had to wait for the EU to legislate on the matter.
If a country cannot pass a law to save the lives of female cyclists – when that proposal is supported at every level of UK Government – then I don’t see how that country can truly be called independent.
But, in fact, it was the UK Government that – at least initially – did not support the EU proposals for safer lorries:
Where we are not supporting European Parliament proposals, it is simply because they will not produce practical changes in cab design and could lead to additional bureaucracy for Britain.
And it was Johnson who expressed concern at this lack of support:
If these amendments, supported by dozens of cities across Europe, can succeed, we can save literally hundreds of lives across the EU in years to come. I am deeply concerned at the position of the British Government and urge them to embrace this vital issue.
Social media has not taken kindly to Johnson's recent retelling of events:
It’s quite staggering how Boris Johnson thinks he can get away with this transparent bullshit. pic.twitter.com/FS3F2L8Pza— Mark Treasure (@AsEasyAsRiding) July 9, 2018
The UK did eventually support the proposal, and the European Parliament voted to amend its laws:
... widening lorry design specifications to increase driver visibility and reduce the chance of serious injury in a low-speed collision.
These rules are not mandatory – older lorry designs will still be allowed on the road.
However, the EU truck safety and efficiency law was delayed until 2019. The European Transport Safety Council warned:
These changes could prevent up to 900 deaths a year on European roads, so any delay will cost lives.
