Following on from our previous blog post where we talked about FORS. We are now going to talk about two companies who are doing their upmost in aiding road safety and preventing accidents. Both Crossrail and Transport for London, have, in the past, been subject to criticism following fatal accidents on the roads in London for not having adequate safety measures or training for drivers. They have since taken important steps to improve both safety features on their HGVs and also in their training methods for drivers. We will look into these improvements and also what more could be done.
Crossrail
Crossrail currently have a huge fleet of HGVs circulating around London in order to stay on schedule with the construction of Crossrail. This has inevitably led to an increase in the number of HGVs in London city center – basically a cyclist’s worst nightmare. Moreover, the Crossrail project is even more complicated for ensuring safety for people at risk as it sub contracts a majority of the work to other companies. These companies have had to up their safety on their vehicles to be awarded the contract.
Today Crossrail has trained over 7,000 lorry drivers in cycle awareness. All lorries and vans working for Crossrail and which go in site have additional safety equipment installed that is mandatory. If they do not have the specific equipment they are refused entry to sites. Due to some of the firms employed being foreign, all road safety information has been translated in to a total of 18 languages. Safer cycling awareness events are also held. These aim to help cyclists become more aware of the dangers of cycling close to lorries. Crossrail also fit road safety mirrors around their construction sites.
Transport for London
Transport for London is also playing its part in improving road safety around London. They have created a Cycle Safety Action Plan. The objectives of the plan are:
- Ensuring the growth of cycling in London whilst reducing the number of accidents.
- Increase awareness of safe cycling and its benefits as a mode of transportation.
- Make steps towards existing and future targets for reducing cycling fatalities.
- Ensure London continues to grow as a world leader in cycling safety improvements.
Though many accidents remain avoidable, steps are genuinely been taken in the right steps to cut the number of accidents and fatalities down. Now to relate back to our previous post and in sort continue it. We have listed what products you need to gain different levels of FORS accreditation.
FORS Accreditation Medals with Vision UK
For a bronze medal you need:
- 7” Monitor
- Reverse Camera
- Side Camera
- Talking Left Turn Alarm
- Multi-Frequency Reversing Alarm
For silver:
- 7” Monitor
- Reverse Camera
- Side Camera
- Step Area Close Proximity Warning System
- Talking Left Turn Alarm
- Multi-Frequency Reversing Alarm
For gold:
- Reversing Camera with Multi-Frequency Reversing Alarm
- Nearside and offside cameras
- Step area close proximity warning system with left turn
- Front accident camera
- DVR-800 with G-sensor and GPS