EU Written Declaration on HGVs - PLEASE SUPPORT

At least Stauart Gulleford didn't just see no. This motion is a lot like the EDMs we've had. It's a gret start in raising awareness. Next we should aim to get in the slip stream of environmental campaigns that have similar aims. It's a start.

Done did it

+1

Done

Done to Anna Sourby.
Points:-
Tragedy for family and driver involved.
Cost of emergency services borne by taxpayer.
Cost to community.

Done

Done!

reckon a campaign that presses for disincentives to be created for lorry companies' HGVs killing people (e.g. fines / revoking or restricting licences) might help them to be a bit more responsible in the way they operate their businesses

'Lorry driver jailed for seven years for killing London cyclist'
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=2138

'Waste firm ‘very sorry’ after its lorries kill two in six months'
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23905321-waste-firm-very-sorry-after-its-lorries-kill-two-in-six-months.do

I'm in Tower Hamlets so a bunch of MEPs are just UKIP and they opt out.

Some others were more supportive. This from Claude Moraes MEP (Labour Member of the European Parliament for London) Apologies if you find the level of detail a little too granular, I guess some people are tracking this closely

*Thank you for writing to me about European Parliament Written Declaration 81 on improving road safety through the elimination of blind spots around lorries. I am pleased to tell you that I will sign this important Declaration... In addition, I have recently asked a parliamentary question on just this issue, both the text of, and the response to, I include below...

Question for written answer E-010228/2010
to the Commission
Rule 117
Claude Moraes (S&D)

Subject: Blind spots in heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)

Dangerous blind spots still remain for HGV drivers despite the increased visibility requirements that were stipulated in Directives 2003/97/EC and Directive 2007/38/EC.

An estimated 2 000 cyclists in the EU are killed on the roads each year, with a high proportion of these deaths caused by HGV drivers’ blind spots. Studies have shown that HGVs that travel in London are involved in 43% of London’s cycling deaths even though they only account for 4% of total road trips.

Installing standard sensors, cameras or mirrors in lorries would allow drivers to be more aware of pedestrians and cyclists and therefore help prevent accidental deaths in the future.

Is the Commission aware of this issue and, if so, what measures is it prepared to implement in order to achieve the optimal level of road safety in Europe?

Is the Commission prepared to evaluate and revise the present Directive 2007/38/EC in order to align it with the necessary technological advances that are needed to tackle HGV blind spots?

E-9877/10EN
E-10228/10EN
Answer given by Mr Kallas
on behalf of the Commission
(15.12.2010)

European legislation requires lorries to be fitted with blind spot mirrors so that blind spots can be reduced to a very large extent. New lorries have been fitted with them since 26 January 2006 and all other lorries - except lorries registered before 1 January 2000 - since 31 March 2009.

There is a specific section on the Europa road safety website which deals with this problem[1].

At all events, the Commission wishes to point out that, under Article 5 of Directive 2007/38/EC[2], it is required to report on the implementation of the legislation relating to blind spots to the European Parliament and the Council by 6 August 2011 and, if necessary, to submit a proposal for the revision of existing legislation.

With regard to the fitting of devices to new vehicles, it should be pointed out that the Commission is taking part in the development of technical provisions to improve lateral visibility for lorry drivers in the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva. Once they have been adopted by the experts, the new provisions will be incorporated into UNECE Regulation No 46, which is appended to the 1958 Agreement on the type approval of vehicles and components.[3] The latter is due to replace Directive 2003/97/EC[4], which will be repealed shortly. The measures being considered include improving the optical performance of cameras and extending the field of vision of the external rear-view mirrors located opposite the vehicle’s driving position.

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/vehicles/blind_spot_mirrors_en.htm

2 Directive 2007/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community, OJ L 184, 14.7.2007.

3 Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (Revised 1958 Agreement).

4 Directive 2003/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of devices for indirect vision and of vehicles equipped with these devices, amending Directive 70/156/EEC and repealing Directive 71/127/EEC (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 25. 29.1.2004.

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/vehicles/blind_spot_mirrors_en.htm

[2] Directive 2007/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles registered in the Community, OJ L 184, 14.7.2007.

[3] Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (Revised 1958 Agreement).

[4] Directive 2003/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of devices for indirect vision and of vehicles equipped with these devices, amending Directive 70/156/EEC and repealing Directive 71/127/EEC (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 25. 29.1.2004.*

I've just received this email from Marina Yannakoudakis. I'm suspicious that her words are an excuse not to get involved. I hope I am wrong.

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for writing to me regarding HGV vehicles’ blind spots. I am highly respectful of road safety and awareness and support the protection of vehicles, pedestrians and especially cyclists. Accidents between HGV vehicles and cyclists are tragically too common. I feel that the written declaration on HGV blind spots is very narrow in its interpretation and therefore do not think it would be right to sign. I believe we need to look at this in a wider context and I will be posing some questions to the Commission as to how they are going to look at the problems cyclists face.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely,

Marina Yannakoudakis MEP

yeah i just got the same one.

hopefully she means that we need a more holistic approach to solve this issue: the mix of road usage needs to be better managed. in which case i agree. imo gadgets and sensors are probably not a long term solution.

so we need to install crystal balls in each cab so they can see everything?

yes

done - cheers for this

Done it.

Got some replies from some MEPs already, like this one here:

Thank you for your email.     

Road safety is an extremely important     issue, and I am pleased to inform you that I have signed Written     Declaration 0081/2010 on heavy goods vehicle collisions. However, I     believe that technology is only part of the solution - better     driving     is also necessary.     


Yours sincerely,     

Green Party Member of the European     Parliament for London     

Which got me thinking about a post i read yesterday on this thread about the person who was a lorry driver and cyclist and the importance of giving better training to drivers apart from sight tests and stuff...how possible would it be to achieve at least those two things?

when i read "better driving" on the e-mail above i also started considering how trained cyclists are, and how beneficial it could be to have cyclist fully trained to commute safely around the city and not speeding in between cars and lorries like if we were immortal. I know this is kind of suggesting that cyclist should get licenses but i can't come up with any better idea.

It looks like only 36% ok UK MEPs have signed up. Has everyone contacted theirs? We'd really appreciate it if you did.

http://www.eilidhcairns.com/campaign/mep-response/

Many thanks for your email, Malcolm Harbour MEP has signed Written
Declaration 81.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Harding
UK Assistant to Malcolm Harbour MEP

1 reply back, 5 more to go....

Yep.

Emails sent to my MEPs...

Done but with no expectation of any improvement.

Politicians are, without exception, self promoting scum.

Thank you for your email regarding HGV blind spots.

Michael is very supportive of this written declaration and will be signing
it.

Best wishes

Joanna Watson
Regional Officer to Michael Cashman MEP

Another one.

Done.

done it.

get on the case people. Its a doddle.

db

How embarrassing. A Tory has responded to me as follows:

Dear Clive,

Thank you for your email.

I have signed the Written Declaration.

You might also be interested in the parliamentary question that was submitted to the European Commission which I have copied and pasted
below:

10 March 2010
P-1462/10
WRITTEN QUESTION by Fiona Hall (ALDE) to the Commission
Subject: HGV blind spots
In 2005, Directive 2005/27/EC(1) was adopted, amending Directive
2003/97/EC(2) on rear view mirrors and supplementary indirect vision systems for new commercial vehicles. Vehicles of category N2 not exceeding 7.5 tonnes or those with a cabin similar to that of N3 vehicles now have to have Class IV wide-angle mirrors fitted.
Although this has gone some way to reducing the blind spots of these vehicles, there remains an area of no visibility or impaired visibility on the nearside and rear of the vehicle. There continues to be a high number of fatal accidents between HGVs and cyclists in situations that these new mirrors were meant to address. When considering Directive 2005/27/EC the European Commission only did a cost-benefit analysis of blind spot mirrors and did not investigate the effectiveness of other systems which reduce the blind angle. Among the alternatives are the Lexguard system which makes a sound and triggers a flashing light in the cab of the truck if someone is to the front or nearside of the vehicle, or the use of a standard wide angle lens which widens the driver's field of vision.
Given that Directive 2005/27/EC has not completely addressed the problem of blind spots in HGVs, will the Commission come forward with a revision of the legislation and also consider that there may be a fundamental design flaw in HGV cabs?

9 April 2010
P-1462/2010
Answer given by Vice President Tajani on behalf of the Commission Requirements for the installation of mirrors and other devices for indirect vision on new cars, trucks and buses sold on the EU market are currently contained in Directive 2003/97/EC(1) (as amended by 2005/27/EC(2)). Alternatively, vehicles, mirrors or other vision devices may be approved to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Regulation 46, which is technically equivalent to the above Directive.
In future, as part of the simplification process introduced by the regulation on the General Safety of Motor Vehicles (EC) 661/2009(3), UNECE Regulation 46 will be the only standard that applies.
Within the working group that is responsible for the development of UNECE Regulation 46, the possibility of improving this regulation with the aim of reducing or eliminating the 'blind spot' that exists on many heavy vehicles, is currently under discussion. It is not the purpose of this group to mandate the use of particular products or technologies.
However, it is envisaged that, based on the results of available research on driver visibility, it should be possible to extend the area around the vehicle which must be visible to the driver, either through the use of additional mirrors or by means of other devices such as camera/monitor systems. Once agreement has been reached on a revised version of Regulation 46, it will be incorporated into EU type approval legislation, subject to the agreement of suitable lead times to allow manufacturers the opportunity to adapt their designs.
With regard to the design of the driver's cab itself, it is possible that improvements could be made to the visibility available from the driver's seating position by, for example, increasing the glass area.
However, any such increase in visibility needs to be balanced against the risk of reducing the protection offered by the cab structure in the event of an accident.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Syed

SYED KAMALL
Conservative MEP for London

Done.