Recent data from Transport for London shows that the imposition of the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) that mandates a significant reduction of lorry driver blind spots as of 2022 has helped reduce serious and fatal collisions to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists with HGVs by a third compared to 2017-2019. 

Two other lorry and construction sector safety standards: the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS) and the Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS) standard are voluntary but are mandated in many London local authority contracts and are also helping to reduce road danger. 

Lorries are heavily over-represented in fatal collisions of vulnerable road users in the UK, and in London in particular. This presentation will explain and illustrate how the new lorry safety standards in London are contributing to reducing road danger and how they are gaining acceptance among leading firms working in the capital.   

The presentation will discuss how the standards and the associated training and construction site procedures are now being incorporated in procurement terms by some highway authorities.  

While DVS, FORS and CLOCS standards are now either mandatory or common-place among firms operating in London their adoption beyond the capital remains limited. The presentation will argue that the standards should be adopted nationwide.

Tom Bogdanowicz, Senior Policy Officer, London Cycling Campaign

Tom Bogdanowicz is Senior Policy Officer at the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), a charity with more than 20,000 supporters, of whom more than 11,000 are fully paid-up members.

LCC works to make the capital a greener, healthier, happier and better-connected capital. Tom is also the author of Cycling London and a regular correspondent for London Cyclist magazine and other publications.