Calls for temporary ban on HGVs in central London to reduce risk for cyclists

HGVs should be temporarily banned from central London to reduce the risks faced by thousands of novice cyclists riding to work, a leading personal injury lawyer said today.

The call came as hospitals across London called on councils to fast-track safe walking and cycling routes to help their staff get to work.

Transport for London has begun introducing “pop up” segregated bike lanes, such as on Park Lane, and councils have been widening pavements to make it easier for pedestrians to socially distance.

Jill Greenfield, head of catastrophic injury at Fieldfisher law firm, who specialises in cycling collisions, said she was worried that many Londoners would take to their bikes for the first time in years without being aware of the danger posed by traffic.

She said that “slight misjudgements can lead to catastrophe”.

People cycling as Londoners return to work
Jeremy Selwyn

She said: “It would be great if the Government said that HGVs could not go through the centre of towns, which I think they have done in Paris and other cities.

"That would, in one blow, completely remove a level of danger from cyclists.

“If I could get a route into the city where I didn’t have to come into contact with traffic I would feel so much happier about getting my bike out.”

Three of the biggest NHS trusts in London – Barts Health, St George’s and Barking, Havering and Redbridge – today added their weight to calls for road space to be reallocated to cycling and walking.

Londoners heeding Boris Johnson's call to return to work - In pictures

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Jacqueline Totterdell, chief executive of St George’s hospital, in Tooting, wrote to Wandsworth council asking for it to ask it to install emergency measures ahead “without delay”.

She said: “Our hospital staff are increasingly switching to walking and cycling to work in response to the pandemic.

“We need to make active travel a real option for everyone, not just the young and fit, and use cars and public transport only for those who have no other option.”

The Key Workers Need Streetspace campaign has been established to ensure London NHS staff can get to work safely in the coming months as the lockdown is eased but the need remains to avoid public transport.

Supporters include Will Butler-Adams, chief executive of Brompton bikes, the London Cycling Campaign, Cycling UK and British Cycling.

Ms Greenfield’s comments came in a question and answer session with forensic collision investigator Mark Crouch focusing on minimising the risks to the many thousands of Londoners expected to start cycling as the lockdown eases.

Advice ranged from basic preparations on bike maintenance – ensuring brakes are working, tyres pumped and lights fitted with batteries – to advising cyclists to wear bright colours and not to ride wearing headphones.

Route-planning was said to be vital – with novices advised to try to avoid large roundabouts and busy junctions. The TfL website journey planner allows cyclists to choose less direct routes that tend to be on quieter roads.

Mr Crouch said that cyclists who found themselves near HGVs should “stay back” and not ride on the inside of the vehicle or seek to get ahead of it in moving traffic.

Establishing eye-contact with the driver while waiting at traffic lights was also worthwhile, he said.

They said they were trying to give helpful advice rather than seeking to blame cyclists for collisions. They said that in most cases in their experience the cyclist was not at fault.

Mr Crouch said: “The real issue with HGVs is the limited vision. You can be cycling alongside a HGV and see its mirror, but the driver has got six or seven mirrors to look in at any point.

“If in doubt with these kind of large goods vehicles, just stay back. Cycling up the near side has an inherent level of risk, as does cycling out just to be in front of them.

"As soon as they start turning left…you need a lot of space around a heavy goods vehicle.”

But one Londoner criticised TfL’s “genius idea” of reducing the northbound carriageway on Park Lane from two lanes to one to create the pop-up bike lane, which runs parallel to a north-south bike lane 20m away in Hyde Park.

Park Lane is on the boundary of the congestion charge zone, meaning it carries large volumes of traffic seeking to avoid the levy, which will increase to £15 next month.

David Tarsh, who filmed a video on Park Lane, said: “Normally a three-lane highway, but now TfL has put in a segregated cycle lane, a bus lane and forced all the rest of the traffic into one lane in the middle.

“As you can see, there are no cyclists, no buses and a great degree of congestion. How on earth can you call that a good management of the traffic?”

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