Collisions with cars, vans and lorries account for a large proportion of cyclist deaths. The severity of impacts between motor vehicles and cyclists is influenced by a variety of factors, including the level of protection provided by the vehicle, particularly with regards to the speed of the vehicle. For large vehicles the risk of running over a cyclist is high, especially when turning, and countermeasures for this are needed such as active HGV turning assists and better Direct Vision from the cab.

In the EU the number of cyclists being killed and seriously injured is decreasing, but it is still at a slower rate than for car occupants. While car occupant fatalities have dropped by 50% over the past ten years, cycling fatalities has stalled at around 25% and even increased slightly between 2014 -17[1]. The great progress that EU vehicle regulation has made in saving lives and preventing injury for motor vehicle occupants should be replicated for those outside the vehicle.

We have a major opportunity with the technologies currently available to have genuine VRU specific measures put in all new vehicles. A TRL report[2]  gave positive benefit to costs ratio for many new vehicle safety measures including Intelligent Speed Assistance, Autonomous Emergency Braking for cyclists/pedestrians, improved testing procedure for bonnet design, truck turning assist, and HGV direct vision standards. Which makes it even more momentous that the European Commission has launched a proposal in the 3^rd mobility package that intends to mandate the fitment of all these features in all new vehicles. So what are these technologies and designs, and how will they impact cycling safety?

Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA)

Reducing speeds of motor vehicles in urban areas is crucial in getting more people to use bicycles, not only does this decrease the real danger but it also decreases the perceived danger that those interested in taking up cycling, feel^[3][4]. The ISA included in the Commission proposal is a warning but also crucially an intervening one with haptic feedback and pressure on the pedal when approaching speed limit, it can be overridable by applying sustained pressure on the pedal. The vehicle can read speed limit signs and is fed speed limit information through GPS updates. This is a crucially important piece of technology that could be game changing in reducing speeds, calming traffic and changing a culture of speeding in our cities. Research has shown that drivers come to accept and finally enjoy using th9is and feel out of control and vulnerable themselves when it is taken away.

ECF recommend that MEPs and Member States support this initiative and make this the flagship EU road safety measure.

AEB and design of vehicle front

ECF commissioned a study from AGU Zurich to look into incorporating cyclist impacts into the Pedestrian Protection Regulations of type approval^[5], this regulation deals with the design of bonnet fronts and how pedestrians and cyclists hit the vehicle. The conclusions of the study are that currently cyclist impact is not considered in this regulation, this has serious implications for reducing impact severity. Cyclists tend to impact higher up on the car, on the windscreen and on the A-pillars of the vehicle. There are also better materials available for windscreen design which absorb forces better. These have been taken up by the Commission proposal. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) is also included in the proposal for cyclists and pedestrians, the vehicle will apply emergency braking if the vehicle thinks it would crash otherwise. Passive and safety systems act as multipliers on the benefits of each other and should be seen as a whole pedestrian/cyclist safety system. Used in conjunction, Intelligent Speed Assistance, Autonomous Emergency Braking and front end design improvements would have a huge impact in the reduction of cycling and pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries.

HGVs/Truck safety

Trucks are involved in around 4,000 fatal crashes in Europe every year. Many of these fatalities, almost 1,000^[6], are “vulnerable road users” such as cyclists and pedestrians. The data shows that relative risk of HGVs in urban areas^[7] is rising. The level of urbanisation is expected to rise to 82% by 2050^[8] this will mean increased demand for goods, services and building works in our cities. We must make these vehicles fit for purpose to be allowed in urban areas. The Commission proposal has included a right turning assist warning device in lorries to aid the driver detecting cyclists in blind spots of a right turning HGV. However, there is no automatic braking, we believe that braking should also be part of the assist system. There will be, for the first time, a direct vision standard for all trucks which means the driver will be able to see clearly through the side and front windscreen. It is bizarre that this is obligatory for cars but not for HGVs, and again we very much support this. However, there is a very long lead in time for this measure (up to 2028/2030), we would urge MEPs and Member States to reduce this lead in time. Every year less will mean less people under trucks! We need to squeeze every year possible from this.

25.000 lives saved!!

Transport Research Laboratory reckon that around 25.000 lives will be saved over the next 15 years if the measures in the Commission proposal are implemented. For tweaking the Commission proposal, we call for Emergency braking for right turn lorries to be added along with the warning system and for the lead in times for the HGV direct vision standard to be cut.

But most of all we call on MEPs and Member States to support and defend this really good European Commission proposal. This could be the flagship of European Union road safety, and hugely complement infrastructure development and road user behaviour to making Vision Zero targets a genuine possibility.