The current Direct Vision Standard announced in 2021 means that an HGV vehicle must meet at least a 1 out of 5-star safety requirement in order to be permitted within London, with further news that going forward into 2024 that HGVs rating below 3 stars will not be allowed within some London borders without facing a penalty fine.

These safety features focus on how much direct vision the driver has of the road and pedestrians while inside the cab of the HGV.

If your vehicle does not meet the requirements set out by Transport for London found HERE, then there are measures that can be implemented in order to improve the field of vision for vehicles. These include camera monitoring systems, sensor systems, driver alerts, and class V/VI mirrors.

These additions are fantastic in the short term but aren’t cost-effective looking towards the future. These extras are additional costs on top of buying your vehicle that can be avoided by purchasing specialist city-safe cabs that already meet a higher rating. We are now able to offer to mount our truck-mounted sweepers onto a Low Entry cab that achieves a 5 star Direct Vision Standard rating - surpassing these requirements and offering the safest sweep possible.

Safety is always something that must be considered; in 2013 alone, HGVs were involved in over 60% of incidents leading to cyclist fatalities in London. This isn’t an isolated issue either - other cities also suffer from high mortality rates that involve HGV accidents. HGVs makeup only 2% of the vehicles on the road across Europe but are involved in 15% of fatal road collisions. That's not all, for every 1 person killed, 5 more get seriously injured after a collision with an HGV.

These figures have prompted other European cities to follow in London’s footsteps, 9 other major cities including Lisbon, Berlin, Paris, Valencia, and Stockholm have also agreed to introduce a direct vision standard for trucks. Therefore it is only a matter of time before other UK cities follow in Europe and London’s wake and implement their own standards for Direct Vision safety.

Although Sweepers are currently exempt and do not need to acquire a permit, that’s not to say the standards won’t change and be introduced in the future. We shouldn’t take this exemption for granted and should still consider introducing these standards, as the safety of the pedestrians and cyclists in our cities is paramount.

October of 2021 saw the Ultra Low Emission Zone for London increase. Now, vehicles that do not comply with the low emission standards will receive fines of £12.50 a day. The move has prompted other cities across the UK to implement similar operations with cities such as Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, and Portsmouth the next on the list to start.

This change has been prompted by the need to improve air quality and therefore the health of those living in and visiting the capital. Air quality is measured by how clean the surrounding air is. This is done by analyzing the concentration of certain pollutants in the air including smoke, dust, smog, and harmful chemicals such a Nitric Oxide (NO), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Hydrocarbons (HC), Volatile organic compounds (VOC), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and most notably, Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5).

Most air pollutants are in the form of gas but inhalable Particular Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) such as dust, smog, smoke, and soot are common in cities and on roadways. The main source of PM emissions is from internal combustion engines and dust. These particulates settle on roadways and pathways, then when a vehicle drives over it, the gusts produced from that movement cause the particulates to be airborne, mixing with the air and lowering the air quality.

These particulates can be carcinogenic and are the main cause of human health issues from poor air quality. They can be inhaled and deposited on the surfaces of the airways and lungs. Exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 has been shown to have a significant detriment to lung and heart health and an increase in respiratory diseases such as asthma. Therefore, reduced air pollution indicates better health for those who spend a significant amount of time on and around roadways.

One study showed that the significant reduction in air pollution during the lockdown, compared to pre-lockdown, was caused by lower levels of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2. This notable improvement in air quality was witnessed across the globe, however, this improvement was proven to be temporary because once lockdown restrictions lifted, the pollution levels once again increased.
 

What can we do to improve the air quality once again?

London has introduced the Low Emission Zone and the Ultra Low Emission Zone as a way to combat the air quality crisis and to reduce the number of particulate-producing vehicles driving through the city.

However, merely reducing the number of vehicles on the road in high polluted places is only one way to help. There are a few simple additional measures that can be implemented to reduce these problems.

Road sweepers are one of the best vehicles to drive your roads to combat this significant public health issue.
Not only do they clear up litter and debris, but road sweepers collect the dangerous Particulate Matter that sits on roadways. Bucher’s range of compact and truck-mounted sweepers collect these loose particulates by spraying water onto the roadway to increase the weight of the debris. Once wet, these particulates can no longer go airborne and can be effectively swept up into the sweeper.

Similarly, rainfall has been shown to be extremely effective for air quality improvement, suggesting that wet collection when sweeping is better than dry. Therefore, vacuum suction is more effective than mechanical - especially in the summer months when the road is dry with less frequent rainfall. Although often seen as a rainy place, the average annual precipitation for the UK is only 133 days, only just over a third of the days of the year. Even when it does rain, it needs to be heavy enough to saturate the roads in order to effectively trap the particles and stop them from becoming airborne.

In another study performed in Krakow, Poland they found that on a busy dual carriageway the air quality improved (up to 100%) after being swept by a road sweeper, but this improvement only lasted approximately 3 hours before the levels started to increase again due to the amount of traffic frequenting the roadways.

To combat this issue, road sweepers need to increase the frequency they are out on the road in a day. The optimum time to wash and sweep roads was between 05:00 and 06:00 in order to reduce the amount of road emissions during peak morning traffic. Then taking the Krakow study into consideration, at least one other wash and sweep would be required before the peak of afternoon traffic congestion.

Taking all this into consideration, London’s new Ultra Low Emission Zone requirements are definitely improving the air quality. In an evaluation by the Greater London Authority and the effectiveness of the ULEZ, they found that although there was a“substantial and immediate improvement in air quality in recent years, significant work remains to bring London’s pollution down to levels where it does not have a harmful impact on public health.”

Their findings indicate that although the ULEZ is having some impact on the air quality of these cities, measures such as increased road sweeping and washing may be needed to bring those levels down to optimum. The broadening of the Ultra Low Emission Zone is the main focus that London has implemented to try and reduce these high levels of air pollution.

Currently, the Ultra Low emission zone falls within the Low Emission Zone that already affects HGV vehicles, but the fact that London is becoming increasingly strict with its measures suggests more changes could happen in the future.

As well as the broadening of the ULEZ, the new engine standard for HGV Lorries also changed in an additional measure to cut down on air pollution. If using a diesel engine instead of electric, a lorry must now have a Euro VI engine (previously Euro IV) in order to now comply with the Low Emission Zone and avoid a daily fine. All these changes considered, it appears that alternative fuel and electric-powered vehicles are the safest way to go.

London is changing incredibly quickly, leading the way in low emission and safety standards. Many cities across the UK are looking to the capital to improve their own regulations, and after seeing the success in London, are bringing these measures forward. It is only a matter of time before these standards are rolled out through the whole of Europe.

For the time being, the regulations are being introduced step by step with the current guidelines being: if driving an HGV within London you must meet a minimum of 1 star Direct Vision Standard rating to avoid a fine (rising to 3 starts in 2024), and if traveling within the Low Emission Zone, all Diesel run HGVs must have a Euro VI engine to avoid a daily fine.