EU plan for rounder lorry cabs to save hundreds of lives each year

A week after a cyclist was killed in a collision with a lorry during the rush hour in central London, the new proposals from Brussels were welcomed by London’s Transport Commissioner as well as the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) and Transport & Environment (T&E) campaigning groups.

FEVR president Jeannot Mersch said: “Lorries have an infamous reputation when it comes to road safety, and rightly so. Currently, a frontal crash with a lorry is like hitting a brick wall. Design changes to the nose of the lorry cab will help to reduce severe injuries and save hundreds of lives each year. These improvements should be mandated for all lorries as soon as possible.”

Transport & Environment policy officer William Todts, said: “European lorries have been stuck in the past and this is costing Europe billions of euros in wasted fuel. The proposal is a small step towards freight transport fit for the 21st century.” After last week’s cyclist fatality in London, Mayor Boris Johnson said he wanted to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the capital unless they were fitted with cycle-safety measures.

The new plan would free up designers to develop deeper cabin skirts as part of a round, deflecting nose shape and extended crumple zone. The bigger cabs would also improve driver vision.

London’s transport commissioner Sir Peter Hendy welcomed the plan as a positive step forward, saying: “The revision of this directive allowing for greater visibility of cyclists and other vulnerable road users is an important step in the development of a safer and more efficient goods vehicle.”

The Commission acknowledged that current, 30-year-old rules on lorry weights and dimensions did not have energy efficiency or other environmental objectives in mind.

And on safety, a Commission statement said: “In practice the current rules now actually prevent the introduction of innovative designs – such as more rounded cabins- which are essential to increase fuel efficiency and safety.”

The existing EU directive restricting heavy goods vehicle weight to 44 tonnes maximum will not change but current maximum length 18.75 metres (61.5ft) will be increased – as long as the increase is in the cab section and improves safety and aerodynamic efficiency.

The proposal now needs the approval of the European Parliament and of EU transport ministers before the changes can become law.