BMW electric HGV: Any safer for cities and cyclists?

There are many who say that heavy lorries are too dangerous for city roads - and increasing calls for their use to be restricted.

Quite apart form the noise and pollution they cause, over half of cyclists deaths on city roads involve a heavy goods vehicle. If they didn't already exist, it's questionable whether lorries weighing forty tons would be permitted on city streets - if only on grounds of health and safety. In light of this road danger, BMW have made the best of a bad lot by introducing an entirely electric HGV that also boasts a cab with excellent driver visibility.

BMW electric HGV

The 40-ton electric truck now drives between the logistics company SCHERM and the BMW plant in Munich eight times a day. BMW is the first car maker in Germany to use an electric truck of this size to transport materials on public roads.

Thanks to its alternative drive train, the truck is quiet, emissions-free in traffic and generates virtually no particle pollution for the environment. The electric HGV produces 11.8 tons less CO2 per year than an equivalent diesel-powered lorry.

Can any HGV be safe for cyclists?

At the moment, the answer unfortunately is no. The best single piece of advice for cyclists in towns and cities is to be hyper aware of lorries at junctions and give them a wide berth whenever possible. It’s an example of the defensive riding that can help keep you safe, but why should the onus so often be on vulnerable road users?

Until we have the high quality infrastructure, road policing and legal framework to transform streets into places designed for people rather than motorised traffic, there must at the very least be mandatory safety equipment standards for the Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) that operate on our roads to benefit cyclists and pedestrians. British law currently requires most HGVs to be fitted with side guards and extended view mirrors. However, certain HGVs, including construction vehicles are exempt from national regulations requiring side guards. Older HGVs are exempt from national regulations requiring mirrors.

"In more than 60 per cent of European cities, HGV movements are restricted"

Speaking to the Telegraph two years ago, Chris Boardman - a man who always talks a lot of sense about cycling - said of a conversation with Boris Johnson:

“I am really disappointed that we had a conversation eight months ago and he said we will look into HGVS. Nothing has happened."

“I think their use in cities needs to be managed. In more than 60 per cent of European cities, HGV movements are restricted. In Paris, for example, there are no articulated vehicles in the centre of the city and there were zero cycling deaths last year. There is huge evidence in favour of it. These things are not happy bedfellows for cyclists. They should be restricted and it can be done. All those cities across Europe that have done it seem to be working fine. The Mayor told me he would look into it. I don’t know whether he has, but I certainly can’t see any action.”

Over a dozen cyclists in London have been killed by lorries since the announcement that almost £1 bn was to be spent on a cycling revolution for the city. The BMW electric HGV, while clever, can wait - a ban on HGVs during rush hour would be a good start towards stopping these entirely preventable tragedies.

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