Lorry drivers may not always be able to see the cyclists around them

Hackney cyclists have welcomed the success of a national campaign to eliminate lorry blind spots that contribute to scores of collisions in the borough each year.

Road safety activists secured the support of 369 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) on March 9 to pass a ‘Written Declaration’, calling for legislation over the use of sensors. The European Commission is now obliged to make proposals in response.

A series of collisions in Hackney have raised concerns over lorry safety.

Daniel Cox, 28, died after going under the wheels of a large yellow Mercedes three-axle truck at Dalston Junction in early Febraury.

And a 39-year-old Homerton woman was seriously injured on February 24 when she was knocked off her bike in a collision with a white tipper truck on the Old Street roundabout in Shoreditch.

Charlie Lloyd, Hackney cyclist and London Cycling Campaign cycling development officer, said: “We think it is brilliant that they have got that through.

“It should make lorries safer but it will take years rather than months.”

He called for better training for both lorry drivers and cyclists.

Gordon Telling, head of urban logistics at the Freight Transport Assocation, said the organisation supported the campaign.

““We think this is a good idea and a number of our members are already using the sensors.”

To join the Gazette’s Hackney Cycle Safe campaign and sign up to our three pedal pledges, go to the homepage and click on the campaign logo.