A longer, more aerodynamic cab with better vision for lorry drivers could save the lives of hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians and should be adopted across the EU, according to a new EU-backed study by Loughborough University’s Design School.
The proposed new cab, 80cm longer with a rounded nose, smaller dashboard, expanded glazed areas, and a slightly lower driver position, could drastically reduce blind spots around the lorry.
The “Direct Vision” lorry concept would increase the driver’s field of view in front and to the sides of the lorry by 50% compared to today’s lorry designs and could save the lives of cyclists and pedestrians.
That’s the major finding of a study by two academics from the Loughborough Design School, which was commissioned by Transport for London and the European Federation for Transport and Environment (commonly known as T&E).
Dr Summerskill, project lead, said: “Blind spots can be a significant factor in fatal accidents. The study shows that the size of these blind spots can be minimised through improved cab design, the reduction of cab height and the addition of extra windows.
Read related articles
Construction and road safety – breaking the cycle
“This is a key moment in the definition of truck design legislation at the European level. Our work is being used to demonstrate that improvements to vehicle aerodynamics must go hand in hand with improvements that allow heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers to have improved vision of vulnerable road users around the vehicle.”
William Todts, senior policy officer at the Brussels-based T&E, said: “Not only drivers, but politicians too need vision. It’s incomprehensible that we allow huge 40 ton mammoths on our roads without making sure the people behind the wheel can actually see what’s going on. After decades of tinkering with mirrors, we need to take this once-in-a-generation opportunity and make Direct Vision compulsory for new lorry designs.”
The study comes at a time when there is increasing concern across Europe over the number of deaths among cyclists and pedestrians involving HGVs. In 2013, for instance, nine of the 14 cyclists killed in London involved HGVs.
According to the European Transport Safety Council, lorries are involved in around 4,200 fatal accidents in Europe every year. Many of these fatalities, almost 1,000, are vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
In countries with high rates of cycling, lorries are often the single biggest threat to cyclists. In Belgium, 43% of cycling fatalities involve lorries, in Holland 38% and in the UK 33%.
Today’s cab design forces the driver to sit on top of the engine in such a high position that much of what happens around the cab is invisible to them – the so-called fatal blind spot.
The study analysed 704 accidents involving HGVs and found that 31% of road fatalities were caused by drivers pulling away, 19% were caused by left turns, 7% by right turns, and 25% from drivers reversing.
The analysis indicates that “critical blind spots” in current models cannot be compensated for by the use of a lorry driver’s mirrors, because of the time lapse between checking them, making observations through the window, and then pulling away from a junction.
“If this time period is four seconds, this is enough time for a cyclist to undertake the HGV, with the driver being unaware of his or her presence,” the paper says.
The current EU law on weight and dimensions of lorries has forced a design that has particularly large blind spots.
Europe has proposed changing this law to allow (but not mandate) slightly longer (80-90cm), more aerodynamic lorry designs. New designs would need to comply with additional safety requirements but these still need to be developed.
Unlike for cars, Europe has no rules guiding what lorry drivers should be able to see with their own eyes (direct vision). Instead, European rules focus on indirect vision (through mirrors), but their often distorted images are no substitute for decent direct vision.
Comments are closed.