Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research he has commissioned on the design of heavy goods vehicles to determine what alterations could be made to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Transport has not commissioned any recent research in this area but it has monitored research commissioned by other bodies, including Transport for London and the European Commission.

Officials have liaised with Transport for London on their proposals to improve the design of heavy goods vehicle cabs to allow the driver a better view, especially on the passenger side. The Government supported the notification of the technical requirements to the European Commission and is optimistic that these measures will come into force for certain large goods vehicles entering London from October 2019. We are also supporting measures under the European Commission’s Third Mobility Package to improve further the protection of pedestrians and cyclists.

The European Commission has carried out research to reduce the danger of HGV vehicle fronts in the context of vulnerable road users. We anticipate final proposals based upon this research to be published by the end of the year.