We are pleased to share an explainer to help firms operating HGVs in London understand new safety equipment technical specifications.
Hauliers operating trucks of more than 12-tonne gross weight must comply with new Direct Vision Standard (DVS) Progressive Safe System (PSS) criteria in the capital from 28 October.
Following our request, we have secured more clarity on the technical specifications from Loughborough University who designed the new standard on behalf of Transport for London (TfL); this was after many hauliers told us it wasn’t clear what equipment they needed to fit to comply.
They’ve set out in their explainer what DVS-compliant Blind Spot Information System (BSIS) and Moving Off Information System (MOIS) should and shouldn’t do.
They say that this document will help operators upgrading their trucks to better understand which systems comply with TfL’s new standard.
The Loughborough University Team stresses that they aim to clarify the meaning of the already-published TfL technical specifications in plain language and the reasoning behind them – and their explainer doesn’t set out any new requirements.
They strongly recommend hauliers test equipment on an operational vehicle before investing to be satisfied that all use cases for the trucks are included in driver testing – they offer advice on this element.
We would like to thank the team at Loughborough University for listening to our feedback to help clarify DVS requirements for hauliers.
However, we are still concerned at the timeframes TfL has set our industry to be fully compliant with PSS.
We are fully committed to helping implement the new standard smoothly and improve safety on our roads, but there are more than 200,000 trucks in-scope needing upgrading amid concerns about availability, volume, affordability and reliability of equipment.
We’re therefore urging TfL to extend the implementation grace period for at least 12 months to help operators upgrade.
We expect officials in London will release a market readiness report in July which will help TfL better understand this picture.
In the meantime, we want you to tell us how ready you are for the 28 October PSS launch.
Please complete our short survey which will inform our ongoing conversations with TfL as we strive for the best outcomes for Londoners and our industry. The deadline is Friday 28 June.
