We have successfully lobbied at local, national and European level for policy and legislative change to protect vulnerable road users from construction traffic.

European

We have successfully lobbied in Strasbourg and Brussels. 

In 2010 with North East MEP Fiona Hall we submitted Written Declaration (81) to European Parliament in Strasbourg calling for mandatory installation of cameras and sensors in HGVs to eliminate blind spots. Over 400 MEPS from all members states signed up to our proposal.

In 2014 we lobbied the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels as part of a London delegation including Olympic gold medallist and British Cycling representative, Chris Boardman, and TfL Cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan. We were successful in achieving a change to the law with an amendment to Directive 96/53 relating to direct visibility for HGV cabs.

UK

We have successfully engaged in both Houses of Parliament with:

• Two Early Day Motions - Cyclists' Safety and Heavy Goods Vehicles and Cycling Safety
• Petitions
• A Ten Minute Rule Bill 
• Parliamentary Questions
• Submission of written evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry to ‘Get Britain Cycling’ in 2013 
• Submission of evidence to the Transport Select Committee Inquiry into safer cycling in 2015. 

Our evidence was subsequently referenced in the 2014 Transport Select Committee Report on Cycling Safety.

35. We received a number of suggestions on how to reduce the number of collisions between HGVs and cyclists. Suggestions focused on safety measures within HGV cabs, including mirrors and sensors. The "See Me, Save Me" campaign, was established by Kate Cairns, with the charity Roadpeace, after her sister Eilidh was killed in a collision with a HGV in London in 2009 [93]. Ms Cairns argued that:

• • •  There is much that central government can do to improve cycling safety through legislation for better standards for HGVs, the vehicles that pose the greatest risk, and best practice driver training but also through stipulation and enforcement of such standards through contractual documents for publicly funded construction projects. [94]

Local Government

• We welcomed the Mayoral Safer London Lorries Consultation in 2016 proposing additional safety devices such as extra mirrors and side guards but we called for further effective direct vision measures:

• We welcomed Northumberland County Council inclusion of reference to the CLOCS standard for the first time in a planning permission. Northumberland subsequently adopted CLOCS in 2016.

• We have engaged with the North East Freight Partnership (NEFP) since June 2016 to explore how to help roll out better HGV standards in the North East.