Mayor Must End London’s Illegal Truck Epidemic Now!

Online Petition Launched by Stop Killing Cyclists

After yet another cyclist was killed by a truck at Vauxhall Cross, Stop Killing Cyclists have today (22nd June 2014) launched a petition calling on the London Mayor to set a target of reducing the illegally driven trucks on London’s roads down from its current epidemic levels (estimated to be over 30%) to a maximum of 1%.

The petition also calls on the Mayor to:

• Provide the funding to achieve this to the Metropolitan Police Enforcement Unit
• End the dangerous driver time-penalty systems used by TfL Buses and trucks used on the Crossrail Project.

The full text of the petition is below.

It is estimated that up to 30% of all trucks being driven in London were in an illegally dangerous state or were being driven illegally.

Stop Killing Cyclists petition author Fred Smith said:

“After yet another preventable killing at Vauxhall Cross we are calling for thousands of Londoners to sign this petition to pressure the Mayor to end the illegal truck epidemic on London’s roads and set a 2 year target to reduce illegality to a maximum of 1%, from its current estimated level of 30%”.

Donnachadh McCarthy, Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder said:

“Stop Killing Cyclists held a demonstration at Vauxhall Cross in December 2013, following the 6 awful November tragedies, calling for greater enforcement of truck safety regulations to protect London’s pedestrians and cyclists, yet almost nothing has changed. Dangerous illegal trucks keep putting Londoners lives at risk.

London’s vulnerable road users cannot tolerate TfL’s complacency any longer. The Mayor must target the killers not the victims.”

Date: Sunday June 22nd 2014
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after the recent spate of cyclist killings in London. 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.

2. The online petition is hosted by 38 Degrees; Hotlink to the online petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/London-Mayor-Must-End-Lethal-Truck-Epidemic-Now

3. Link to pictures and press coverage of December’s Vauxhall Cross Die-In Protest:

http://stopthekilling.org.uk/VauxhallDemo

4. This press release was revised on 22nd June to add a quote from the author of the petition and to provide a clearer hotlink petition web address (item 2, above).

Full Text of Petition

“Following the tragic death of yet another cyclist at Vauxhall under the wheels of a HGV truck, Stop Killing Cyclists call on the London Mayor to urgently increase enforcement of Truck Safety Laws and set a target of pushing the level of illegally driven or in an illegally dangerous state trucks down below 1% by the end of 2015, from the current estimated 30% level.

The Mayor must:

• Increase the funding to the Metropolitan Police Truck Enforcement Unit to achieve this target
• Amend all TfL Bus and HGV contracts (including Crossrail) to ban the practice of penalising drivers using time or load-based key performance indicators (KPI)
• Ban the use of iBus to text TfL Bus Drivers while they’re driving and introduce safety performance KPIs which reward drivers for driving safely

Why is this important?

In London over half cyclist fatalities involve HGVs, despite HGVs making up only 5% of traffic [1].

The Metropolitan Police found in one targeted action that as few as a third of lorries met safety regulations [2]. The police must step up enforcement efforts to catch dangerous lorries before they kill more Londoners.

TfL and other bus and truck companies must stop using incentives which encourage dangerous driving, a practice which has been linked to the disproportionate number of accidents involving HGVs, especially those from the construction industry [3].

A TRL study showed texting whilst driving could be more dangerous than drink or drug driving [4]. Therefore it is unacceptable that TfL is using a text based system to communicate with bus drivers while they are driving.

With one cycling death a month so far in 2014 and even more pedestrian deaths, urgent action must be taken to prevent further fatalities on our roads.”