Fleets that fail to comply with the new HGV safety rules could face a £550 fine

New, stricter minimum safety requirements for vehicles entering London come into force today (Monday 28 October).

Transport for London (TfL) has the rules for the Direct Vision Standard (DVS)that measures how much the driver of a truck (lorry) can see directly through the cab windows.

Trucks over 12 tonnes will now require at least a three-star DVS rating or be fitted with an updated system of enhanced safety features – the Progressive Safe System (PSS) – to operate in Greater London.

Operators will be fined up to £550 if they operate a truck over 12 tonnes in Greater London without a valid HGV safety permit, or if they fail to comply with the permit conditions.

The DVS and HGV Safety Permit Scheme is a key part of the Mayor of London’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on London’s transport network, and this next phase of the scheme uses new technology to improve London’s make roads safer.

The PSS is specifically designed to eliminate the most common causes of fatal collisions between a truck and people walking and cycling where visibility is a factor, such as when a vehicle moves away from a stop or turns left.

Christina Calderato, TfL strategy director, said: “Since we introduced pioneering in London Direct view standardwe have seen a significant reduction in the number of fatal collisions where visibility is a factor in the capital.

“However, there is much more we need to do to achieve our goal of eradicating deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network.

“It is vital that all vehicles using London’s roads put safety at the forefront of their design and we are pleased that trucks operating in the capital will become even safer from today.”

She added: “We would also like to thank the freight sector for their work to ensure vehicles meet the new safety requirements.”

TfL data shows that there was a 62% drop in the number of fatal collisions involving a truck in 2023, compared to the 2017-2019 reference year, and there was also a drop in the number of seriously injured people.

However, truck collisions in 2023 still killed six people and seriously injured 32 people.

Andrew Cox, Managing Director of FM Conway, said: “As a major provider of infrastructure services across London, our vehicles spend a lot of time on the streets of the capital.

“The larger the vehicle, the greater the challenge is to create clear visibility for drivers to avoid collisions and accidents.

“TfL’s DVS and the latest Progressive Safe System update ensure that the largest vehicles operating on the network can do so safely, with driver and technology working together to pre-emptively predict and prevent incidents.

“Health and safety should be a core value for every truck driver, and TfL is ensuring we make the capital safer with their Vision Zero strategy.”

TfL’s DVS has been developed in close consultation with the freight industry and vehicle manufacturers.

The current Safe System with additional safety measures was developed and consulted on in 2018, and will be revised by TfL in 2022 to reflect new equipment and technologies available on the market.

The consultation showed that more than 55% were in favor of the principles of DVS, the safety licensing system for trucks and the principles underlying the PSS.

TfL says it has also been working closely with the freight sector to monitor hauliers’ willingness to adopt PSS measures before the new requirements come into effect.

To allow sufficient time for the industry to purchase, install and test new safety equipment in accordance with the new PSS, operators could apply for a six-month grace period before standards were tightened this week.