MEPs in the European Parliament have voted to support measures which will improve the design of lorries to make them safer for cyclists.
The new legislation, on the dimensions of trucks in Europe, will force manufactures to improve windows and mirrors to heighten cyclists' visibility – which in turn could save hundreds of lives across Europe.
MEPs also voted to improve the efficiency of trucks and lorries, and vitally, voted to hold back measures which could pave the way for 25-meter long 'mega-trucks' to hit European roads.
Keith Taylor, Green Party member of the European Parliament's Transport Committee, said:
"MEPs have voted today to introduce EU measures which will make cyclists more visible to lorry drivers. These improvements will reduce the number of accidents which sadly occur on our roads.
In the UK alone, thousands of cyclists are seriously injured on our roads each year. It's, therefore, good news that measures which will improve visibility for lorry drivers have been passed. It's clear that we must make our streets safer and cleaner, and this can begin by making roads safer for cyclists.
The Parliament also voted to postpone measures which would give the go-ahead to the cross-border movement of huge mega-trucks. Greens have been fighting hard to ensure that such measures were rejected, which would have put the HGV lobby before the interests of wider road-users."
The European Parliament has required that an impact assessment is carried out before proposals on mega-trucks can be taken any further.
Mr Taylor, the Green Party MEP for South East England, added:
"The measures voted on today will make our streets safer for cyclists and, for the time being, halt moves to bring megatrucks to European roads. It's clearly time for vulnerable road users to be protected and today's vote is a first step in the right direction to making our streets safe for everyone."
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