Last week, on the 22nd of September, The Mayor of London announced that the latest version of his safety proposals tailored to the use of HGVs could be a significant step for safety in the capital city. The proposals in the Direct Visions Standard seeks to deliver better safety for all of the capital’s road users. The Freight Transport Association says that the proposals that have been put forward by the Mayor of London will be beneficial for road users in London.

The Freight Transport Association is known for being the largest transport trade association in the UK and aim to represent the best interests of their members. The proposals are expected to be introduced for all HGV operators working in London from 2020, and could make way for the introduction of more technological solutions, such as the in-cab cameras and sensors around the vehicles that will improve safety as well as other regulations the govern the visibility standards needed by drivers in the cabs of HGVs.

The FTA has always taken the view that, in the long term, the technology will be the solution for truly significant changes to road safety improvements. The association has consistently held this stance and expressed it to both the Mayor of London and Transport for London. Therefore, the trade association is pleased that the government appear to be listening and acting on this information in order to offer truly significant safety improvements for all road users in the capital city as well as HGV drivers.

The proposal of the Direct Vision Standard that has been put forward by the Mayor of London will use a star rating from 0-5 that will rate HGVs based on the level of vision they have from the cab. Direct Vision only provides a limited benefit however and the Freight Transport Association has said that this is the wrong way to improve safety, and shouldn’t be used as a sole focus of regulation. Technology has much more potential to improve safety on the road and should be promoted.