On the day that Stop Killing Cyclists (SKC) the cycling activist group were remembering Lucia Ciccioli, yet another person was killed whilst cycling by a lorry being driven on the streets of London. This time it was 21 year old Filippo Corsini, also from Italy, who was killed after he was hit and dragged 30 yards across a box junction in Knightsbridge just before 12.40pm on Monday 31st October. He was cycling to a class at Regent’s University London where he was a student. This time, SKC will gather not where Filippo was killed but outside City Hall, the office of the Mayor of London. We will gather from 5pm on Monday 7th November and from 6pm there will be speakers and then what is known as a Die – In where people will lie down to remember Mr Corsini and think of other people killed in London as a result of HGVs being driven on our streets.
This is the 8th person to be killed whilst cycling on London’s streets and the third this year by an HGV driver. In addition, in 2016 alone, 13 people have been killed while walking or crossing the road in London by HGVs. We are calling upon Mayor Sadiq Khan to respond to these deaths and to make changes so that such deaths do not continue.
We have set the following demands for the Mayor.
1. Ban all 0,1 & 2 star-rated HGVs by 31 Dec 2017. Only allow 5 star beyond 2020.
2. Restart the program of cycling infrastructure started by the previous mayor and appoint a full time Walking and Cycling Commissioner.
3 Commit to spend £250 million of the next budget on active transport, working towards 10% of Transport for London (TfL) budget for cycling and walking in the 2020 budget.
4 Mandatory requirement for London operators & councils to adopt Construction Logistic and Cyclist Safety (CLOCS).
5 TfL to extend Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis (CIRAS) to all HGVs working for Crossrail and TfL immediately and - by the end of 2017 - any HGV Operator working on London’s roads should be signed up to an independent confidential safety incident reporting scheme.
6 Trial an Idaho Stop Law that allows cyclists to treat red traffic lights as “stop and give way” indicators, with full right of way for pedestrians. We demand Sadiq Khan do more than simply “promise to consider” this.
Although SKC welcomes the move by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for plans to introduce a star rating system for HGVs coming into London in accordance with their safety measures (mirrors, cameras, warning systems), the date of 2020 to start to bring this in is far too slow. The family of Mr Corsini said that this date
was too late for Filippo and the other people killed by such lorries being allowed on our streets and that HGV companies must provide safer lorries.
TfL must truly recognise that cycling must be a priority for road design and transport planning if London is to become a safe place for everyone to cycle, not just the fit and the brave, but the pensioner, the child, the parent taking children to school, the ordinary person going about their daily business. As the Mayor himself said “we need more segregated cycle lanes”
Vigil Co-organiser Nicola Branch said:
“I am so sorry to have to announce another vigil. This time we are staging it outside City Hall so that Sadiq Khan can’t ignore us and the loud call that London’s streets must be safe for everyone. We need to remind him that in the lead up to the Mayoral election he said ‘I want London to be a byword for cycling’. Actions are need, not words. We MUST expedite the proposed HGV star ratings scheme. “ Ends.
Notes for Journalists
Stop Killing Cyclists was set up after six cyclists were killed in London in November 2013, to carry out direct action in protest against traffic violence. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London, and conduct vigils for to recognise the deaths of people on bicycles in London, calling for improved infrastructure for cyclists. Event listing on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/events/689801577842081/ Our Demands are based on what was already being done by the previous Mayor Boris Johnson and call for 10% of transport budget to be spent on cycling by 2010.
For more information on Construction Logistic and Cyclist Safety (CLOCS) see http://www.clocs.org.uk/ CIRAS is a confidential reporting system for Industry - http://www.ciras.org.uk/
The Idaho Law - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop Info about TfL’s Safer Trucks Programme can be found here http://content.tfl.gov.uk/assessing-drect-vision-in-hgvs-technical.pdf Photos and information about previous vigils can be found on our website at www.stopkillingcyclists.org. All photos on the website are available for media use, and representatives are available for interviews and media contact by emailing [email protected] or calling Nicola Branch on
07710827041