Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 July (HL782), what assessment they have made of the case for taking steps prior to their consultation (1) to modify the design of heavy goods vehicles by making side guards, mirrors and other proximity devices mandatory, and (2) to ban heavy goods vehicles, particularly lorries used in construction, from city centres at peak times.

The Department for Transport has prepared an assessment of the costs and benefits of fitting side guards and a front mirror above the windscreen to currently exempt vehicles, and this is subject to the clearance process. Side guards are already required on the majority of new vehicles, and a front mirror on vehicles registered from 26 January 2007.

There are no current plans for mandatory proximity devices to detect cyclists alongside heavy vehicles. A full assessment of their effectiveness will be needed before reaching a decision to require such systems.

We have no proposals to ban systematically heavy goods vehicles from city centres at peak times. Local authorities have powers under Sections 1 & 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to make Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). These powers can be used to exclude HGVs either generally or at specified times from roads for which they are considered to be unsuitable.　 It is up to each local authority to balance the need for restrictions against their impact on residents, the local economy and environmental factors.