Boris Johnson makes safety of cyclists an EU referendum issue

kitkat wrote:

Surely this is a manufacturing opportunity for the UK who can then export lorries of a safer standard to the rest of the world?

You need a market - there would be unlikely to be much of one without the regulatory push which is coming in five years: https://ecf.com/what-we-do/road-safety/safer-lorriestrucks-cyclists. Existing manufacturers will be preparing for that.

ron611087 wrote:

All a distraction from the fact that lorries wouldn't be an issue with protected infra, and you can't blame the EU for that.

Its the dutch and danes with all there cyclepath using up far more of their quota than they should, abusing the system. If only we left the EU we could take back control of our cycleways and would not have to give access to them. 

dafyddp wrote:

So is he suggesting we'd have a better chance of convincing European lorry manufacturers, and more influence over the French (!) if we leave the same club? That's just stupid.

Under our own rule we can legislate to ban unsafe vehicles.  Under EU rule we have to go to the EU and try to convince 27 other nations that it's a good idea.  We have had no success in doing that so far.  Unsurprisingly some of those nations manufacture said unsafe vehicles and don't want to change them.

earth wrote:

dafyddp wrote:

So is he suggesting we'd have a better chance of convincing European lorry manufacturers, and more influence over the French (!) if we leave the same club? That's just stupid.

 

Under our own rule we can legislate to ban unsafe vehicles.  Under EU rule we have to go to the EU and try to convince 27 other nations that it's a good idea.  We have had no success in doing that so far.  Unsurprisingly some of those nations manufacture said unsafe vehicles and don't want to change them.

Well as the link above points out it was the UK government that was one of those who choose to object to the ban. The commission and the European parliament have voted in favour of controls. 

The other point, you can ban what you like but if there is no replacement then what? We don't produce trucks.

earth wrote:

dafyddp wrote:

So is he suggesting we'd have a better chance of convincing European lorry manufacturers, and more influence over the French (!) if we leave the same club? That's just stupid.

Under our own rule we can legislate to ban unsafe vehicles.  Under EU rule we have to go to the EU and try to convince 27 other nations that it's a good idea.  We have had no success in doing that so far.  Unsurprisingly some of those nations manufacture said unsafe vehicles and don't want to change them.

If we had the same deal as Norway and Switzerland, which some Brexiters have held up as examples, we'd have the EU rules and no say. As it is, we've helped make the change possible, albeit a bit later (2021) than many would like.

I suspect many of the pro-Brexit camp are keen to reduce safety and environmental standards too, rather than better the EU's efforts. Careful what you wish for.

So Boris would ban all foreign lorries that don't meet the British standards from UK roads? This is a massive lie.

stumps wrote:

Unfortunately for London there is whats called the "Lorry Control Scheme" which bans certain lorries overnight because of the noise they make !

So making noise overnight is more important than saving lives !

There is a skip lorry depot not too far from my house that means skip lorries start driving up my street at around 7:30 in the morning . If they were all night I wouldn't get a wink of sleep. I didn't know there was such legislation, but I imagine letting people get some sleep does save lives.

DrJDog wrote:

There is a skip lorry depot not too far from my house that means skip lorries start driving up my street at around 7:30 in the morning . If they were all night I wouldn't get a wink of sleep. I didn't know there was such legislation, but I imagine letting people get some sleep does save lives.

The control scheme is for controlling the movement of heavy goods vehicles over 18 tonnes maximum gross weight at night and at weekend - http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/london-lorry-control#sthash.iC2WFAT5.dpuf

so i dont think your skip company would be covered if its for 18 tonnes and above.

DrJDog wrote:

So Boris would ban all foreign lorries that don't meet the British standards from UK roads? This is a massive lie.

Couldn't help noticing a massive foreign registered artic waiting next to a construction site around the corner from my office this morning.  LHD, no 'extra mirrors', I wonder whether the driver is used to central London traffic...

stumps wrote:

Never mind pushing for changes in lorries and trucks just ban them from the roads between say 7am and 7pm. All transport must be done overnight when there are very few other "at risk" road users and drop the price to carry cargo on trains.

I think this was suggested once before on another news item last year:  a lot of the early bird cycle commuters who are on the roads before 7 am said that it would make their lives more dangerous.  It was likely to simply massivly increase the number of large vehicles on the road just before 7 am and just after 7pm - the haulage companies are unlikely to spread their trucks out evenly through the night because they'd have to pay more overtime... 

brooksby wrote:

stumps wrote:

Never mind pushing for changes in lorries and trucks just ban them from the roads between say 7am and 7pm. All transport must be done overnight when there are very few other "at risk" road users and drop the price to carry cargo on trains.

I think this was suggested once before on another news item last year:  a lot of the early bird cycle commuters who are on the roads before 7 am said that it would make their lives more dangerous.  It was likely to simply massivly increase the number of large vehicles on the road just before 7 am and just after 7pm - the haulage companies are unlikely to spread their trucks out evenly through the night because they'd have to pay more overtime... 

At the moment there is a night time HGV ban in central London from 9pm to 7am weekdays so right now there is a cavalry charge of HGVs after 7am at the same time as the peak number of cyclists.

I'm not sure wht your point is - are you saying it is safer to have HGVs on the road before 7am when there are actually quite few people cycling compared to, between 8am to 9am when there are the maximum number of people cycling?

I love my bike wrote:

So Boris, could truck companies actually manufacturer new safer models just for the UK, before they are released within the EU in ~5 years time?

Anyway, retrofit lower door windows, and trucks based on a refuse truck platform are available now.

Re: manufacturers, I don't think they could - EU law will actually prevent the designs Boris is talking about until 2021. It's an unintended consequence. And who would buy them if they're not standard or mandated? 

Better design and modifications are already possible though, as you say.