Legal News

A YouGov poll for London newspaper the Evening Standard has found that 55% of adults living in London think that HGVs should be banned from roads used by lorries during the rush hour, to protect cyclists.

The Evening Standard reports that so far in 2015, a total of eight cyclists have been killed on London’s roads – and more women cyclists than men are being killed. This year, six out of the eight fatal cycle accidents in London have involved women – and five of the fatal incidents occurred during the London rush hour.

In 2014, a total of 5,124 cyclists were killed or injured on London’s roads, despite the introduction of the London Mayor’s cycling super highways. Many cyclists are injured or killed in road traffic accidents involving lorries and buses, which can have a blind spot. In some cases, cyclists have been trapped between HGVs and pulled underneath the vehicle as a lorry or bus turned at a junction.

The figures are London’s tenth successive increase for annual cycle injuries and deaths – cyclists comprise 2% of all journeys in London, but account for 10% of road deaths and 21% of injuries.

The poll also revealed that 51% of Londoners over the age of 18 also believe cyclists should be banned from the capital’s roads during the rush hour – including 48% who said they were cyclists, but still supported a rush hour ban.

However, only 203 cyclists were polled about banning cyclists during the rush hour – and 68% supported a ban on HGVs during rush hour.

Tanya Abraham from YouGov said:

“Cyclists are often considered the most vulnerable road users. A series of measures needs to take place in order to prevent these accidents from occurring.”

Vice-chairman of the all parliamentary cycling group – Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse Jim Fitzpatrick – said the London Mayor’s office should be considering banning lorries from London’s roads during rush hour. He added that existing legislation should be more fully enforced for both vehicles and cyclists.

London cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan said there were difficulties with banning lorries during rush hour, however – saying cyclists and pedestrians would not benefit if deliveries were “simply dispensed” at other times of the day. Mr Gilligan said more deliveries at night or in the early hours would “disrupt residents” – and have an impact on their sleep and health.

Many of central London’s streets are also now hotspots for drinkers at night, meaning lorries might have the additional problem of navigating streets busy with drinkers until the early hours while trying to make a delivery safely.

Some lines of the London Tube are expected to run all night on Friday and Saturday nights from the autumn, meaning drinkers are likely to stay out later – and in some cases alcohol-related road traffic accidents may become an additional risk for HGVs driving through London at night if a rush-hour ban on lorries is brought in.

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