The road safety benefits of new, stricter safety regulations for heavy good vehicles (HGVs) have been welcomed by fleets on the latest Fleet News at 10 webinar.
However, there was also criticism for the new Direct Vision Standard (DVS) rating, which will apply to trucks entering Greater London from October 28.
Introduced in 2019, with enforcement starting in March 2021, DVS seeks to improve drivers’ vision through the cab windows of HGVs above 12 tonnes to prevent collisions caused by limited visibility.
HGVs will be required to meet a three-star safety rating from October 28, or face a fine ofup to £550 (reduced to £275 if paid within 14 days).
If an HGV falls short of the new standard, new advanced warning systems referred to as the Progressive Safe System (PSS) will need to be installed to obtain a permit from Transport for London (TfL).
Recognising concerns about the availability and reliability of equipment to update vehicles, and the timeframe available to install new equipment, TfL officials agreed to extend an existing grace period from three to six months, last month.
Duncan Webb, fleet director at the AA, welcomed the three-month extension to the grace period, given confirmation of the exact standards were only released at the end of May.
However, he warned: “Please be aware you have to apply for the grace period. It is not a given and you could be refused a grace period.”
TfL says that to qualify for the grace period, you will need to provide evidence that you have installation works arranged to fit the PSS but that this is scheduled for after October 28, otherwise you will still befined for non-compliance prior to the new, extended grace period ending on May 4, 2025.
Webb also told Fleet News at 10he was “frustrated” that the new standardis over and above the new European regualtions, noting that at the AA was having to upgrade new vehicles that met those EU standards.
Appearing alongside Webb, Matt Hammond, deputy chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) and UK fleet and transport manager atAltrad Services, also believes that European HGV safety regulations are more than adequate.
He said: “We’re just putting this extra cost on to HGV operators just because TfL have come up within this set of guidelines that they think is the right way.”
He explained: “We all want safer roads, and we all want to prevent deaths on the road. My concern with this is that we’re putting all the emphasis on the HGV drivers again.
“There needs to be a better understanding of how an HGV operates. It doesn’t move like a car. It doesn’t move like a van. It moves the wrong way to move the right way.
“We need to educate the other road users as well as pedestrians.”
Hammond agrees with improving safety features on the trucks and making visibility better for the drivers, but he added: “I think we should have aligned with the EU rules, because then all new trucks would be compliant, and it would save this excessive cost that operators are going to have to face.
“The transport industry isn’t exactly a wash with money.
“There are lots of operators going out of business, and now we’re just putting more and more pressure on these guys. I don’t feel it’s a fair system. I think it’s gone too far.”
Similar to the UK’s DVS regulations, the EU implemented new HGV guidelines after the European Commission introducedtheEU Road Safety and Policy Frameworkin 2019, which aims to reach zero European road deaths by 2050.
The new European standards regulate how much of the road drivers must be able to directly see with all new HGV models sold in Europe needing to meet these standards by September 2025.
TheEU Vehicle General Safety Regulation(GSR), a separate piece of legislation,also includes mandated technologies for HGVs to safeguard vulnerable road users and vehicle occupants, and minimise human error.
They include an emergency stop signal, reversing information, tyre pressure monitoring systems, moving off information systems, blind spot information systems and intelligent speed assistance.
Gaynor McNicholas, customer relationship director at Zenith, says that, even with TfL’s extension, it still remains “very challenging” for operators to become compliant.
“We estimate there's over 200,000 vehicles that are in scope that need these upgrades. There are concerns around availability, affordability and in some cases reliability of the equipment.”
Guidance to help commercial fleets operating HGVs in London understand the new safety equipment technical specificationswas published in June.
Click below to watch the Direct Vision Standard (DVS) discussion on Fleet News at 10
