Cyclists call for rush hour lorry ban on month anniversary of newlywed's death

 
Tragic: Ying Tao, who was killed at Bank
City of London Police Collect
Tom Marshall22 July 2015

Cyclists today launched a campaign calling on the Mayor of London to ban lorries during rush hour - a month after the tragic death of a newlywed who collided with a HGV.

The London Cycling Campaign is demanding "urgent action" from the mayor to bring an end to "lorry danger" on the capital's roads.

The plea comes exactly a month after 26-year-old Ying Tao died at the Bank of England junction in the City while cycling to work.

The newlywed was the eighth cyclist to be killed on London's roads this year, and the seventh after being hit by a lorry.

LCC is calling for a ban between 8am and 9.30am on all lorries weighing more than 7.5 tonnes. It claims 40 per cent of cycling deaths involving lorries happen during this time.

Ashok Sinha, chief executive of LCC, said: "It is unacceptable that seven cyclists have lost their lives after being involved in collisions with lorries on London’s roads in the first half of 2015.

Mangled: A wrecked bike that was caught under the wheels of a lorry in Fulham on July 7 (Picture: London Ambulance Service)
London Ambulance Service

"Forty per cent of cycling fatalities involving lorries occur in the morning rush hour.

"Almost all of these fatalities involve the construction and waste industry lorries that flood onto our roads at the same time thousands of people are cycling to work.

"Unless more is done, more people will lose their lives. We’re calling on the Mayor to end lorry danger now."

The campaign group has launched a petition which urges the mayor to "get lethal lorries off our roads".

As well as the lorry ban, it is calling for greater enforcement of lorry safety regulations.

The group is also urging the Greater London Authority and Transport for London to ensure only "direct vision" lorries - those with a safer cab design increasing the driver's field of vision and reducing blind spots - are used on projects which they fund.

'Die-in': Cyclists gathered for one of three protests at Bank following the death of Ying Tao (Picture: Twitter/Tom Kearney)
Twitter/Tom Kearney

Labour mayoral hopeful David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, suggested last month that he would seek to ban HGVs during rush hour - in the morning and evening - in central London if elected to City Hall.

Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor's London Cycling Commissioner, said: "A lot of thought has gone into this question but there are many difficulties and practicalities with imposing a rush hour ban in a major city like London.

"What we don’t want to see is heavy goods vehicle activity simply dispersed to other times of the day - HGV's flooding into town once the rush hour is over won’t deliver benefits for cyclists or pedestrians.

"More lorries very late at night could also be disruptive for residents and we have to consider people’s sleep and their health. Far more important in this debate is the safety of vehicles themselves.

"Manufacturers are increasingly aware of this, with more lorries now featuring advanced technology and better cab designs.

"And, in September, we will be banning lorries and construction vehicles without certain safety equipment from entering London at all - at any time of the day or week."

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