A view from the saddle- training for HGV drivers

LCC press release--well done to all who worked on this.

Thousands more lorry drivers are in line to receive cyclist-awareness training now that on-bike courses have been officially approved as part of a driver’s Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and are backed by Transport for London (TfL) funding.

So far 6 of 33 London boroughs have given their lorry drivers cyclist-awareness training, but the measure can now be rolled out to every council as part of a driver’s CPC, the compulsory training that every UK driver must undertake once a year.

Private lorry operators are also much more likely to choose cyclist-awareness training for their drivers now that it's CPC-accredited.

Through our No More Lethal Lorries campaign, LCC played a key role in highlighting the problem of lorry deaths in the capital, including lobbying for adoption of cyclist-awareness training by London boroughs with a 10,000-name petition.

LCC campaigns officer Charlie Lloyd (freight expert and former lorry driver) said, "HGV drivers who've cycled on the roads as part of the training tell us they become more aware of more vulnerable road users, which can help prevent injury and death to cyclists.

"Getting CPC-accreditation for on-bike cyclist-awareness training is a major step towards achieving our aim that all lorry drivers working in London know what it’s like to ride a bike in the city.”

HGVs account for about half of cyclist fatalities in Greater London, even though they make up only 5% of the traffic.

The No More Lethal Lorries campaign, including the 10,000-name petition handed in to the mayor in July this year, has been instrumental in bringing about the change.

Lloyd said, "We want to thank the 10,000-plus people who supported our petition, donated to our appeal, and gave their time to the campaign.

"And well done to Transport for London, Cycle Training UK, Bikeworks and CycleInstructor.com for pushing through the official approval for this kind of training."