Focus ▶ Urban operations ROOM FOR MANOEUVRE? Our cities are becoming more and more congested with pedestrians, cyclists, cars and trucks wrestling for space. Louise Cole looks at how operators can change their methods of operation to alleviate costs, service customers more effectively – and keep the councils happy!

rban logistics has never been is, therefore, between a rock and a hard sive moves in how urban planners and more demanding. The UK’s place – and there is little evidence that local authorities are viewing the freight cities are a political battle- either surface will become more yield- industry. While freight will probably ground of conflicting need ing in the near future. In November the never enjoy the political attention Uwhen it comes to road sharing, cus- London Assembly voted unanimously that more voter-pleasing demograph- tomer demand, air quality, economic for an HGV ban during rush hour and ics achieve, there is a recognition that and population growth and increas- Mayor Boris Johnson has subsequent- economic growth, expanding popula- ing numbers of vulnerable road-users ly tasked Transport for London (TfL) tion densities and significant shifts in (VRUs). with assessing the pros and cons of a consumer demand for deliveries will HGV usage in London – often a ban or additional charge. gridlock London – and other cities – if The issue of night- testbed for transport policy – has re- Mayoral candidates have also called not controlled. time deliveries has mained broadly static regardless of for ‘tougher rules on HGVs’ or a sur- Traditionally, town planners have gained political road charging, progressive emissions charge on diesel vehicles in an attempt tried to mitigate the effects of trucks. approval as a means limits and policies such as the London to price them off the road and so im- In future we will probably see greater of separating HGVs Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS). Yet prove air quality, despite the fact that attempts to reduce urban mileage – from vulnerable HGVs are seen as politically undesir- road transport is a service industry and through consolidation centres and road-users and able because they are large, diesel- therefore must absorb cost rather than last-mile projects – to retime deliver- improving congestion burning and disproportionately dan- retreat. ies and to mitigate the remaining and and pollution gerous to VRUs. The freight industry There are, however, some progres- inevitable peak-time truck presence.

Consolidation centres Camden Council led a European- funded four-council initiative last year to have council deliveries consolidat- ed at a centre in Edmonton by DHL and taken on in larger, fewer loads. This was funded by last-mile initia- tive www.lamiloproject.eu which has identified the final leg of deliveries as being of crucial importance in urban logistics, particularly as population densities grow and consumer demand for speedy delivery to home or office intensifies. The pilot study by Camden, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Islington, which only involved deliveries destined for council buildings, gave a 46% reduc- tion in the number of vehicle trips, a 45% reduction in kilometres travelled,

50 Roadway April 2016 Urban operations ◀ Focus

Top tips for urban haulage

l Engage with the process of planning. Make friends with your local authority freight department, offer opinions and experience. Do not assume they understand the operational challenges you face. l Use telematics, routeing and scheduling software and urban-friendly vehicles to optimise mileage. Collect the data and use it to argue your case for political support. l Periodically check for grants or trials into alternatively- fuelled vehicles, last-mile projects or retiming pilots. European funding and UK government funding have both been available for air quality and urban engineering projects. l If you have several clients in the city centre, see if they have any interest in a shared consolidation facility.

a 41% reduction in carbon dioxide this will only work for commuters pre- between 7am and 1pm. Furthermore, Above: The growing (CO2), a 51% reduction in nitrogen pared or able to carry their own goods some goods are unsuited to having the home deliveries oxides (NOx) and a 69% reduction in home. deliveries retimed from early morning, market has boosted air-borne particulate matter (PM). Politically, there are three main is- such as fresh foods. the number of vans Consolidation centres have also sues concerning freight: the number Operators are encouraged to apply in London, now five been successfully deployed for Regent of vehicles and how they contribute to to their local authority to reschedule times the total of Street deliveries and the EU’s Bestfact congestion; the safety implications of specific contracts and the Retiming HGVs project’s 2016 guide to the 157 effective road sharing between commercial ve- Deliveries Consortium, comprising re- strategies for urban logistics includes hicles and vulnerable road-users such tailers, councils, trade associations and Gnewt Cargo’s Southwark consolida- as cyclists; and the impact of diesel the Noise Abatement Society, is run- tion centre, which groups parcel deliv- vehicles on air quality. ning trials and giving advice. eries and sends them into London in its The Low Emission Zone has not Night deliveries are a complex 50-strong electric van fleet. had sufficient impact on air quality, calculation financially. Parking fines Consolidation centres are also used and indeed the very high levels of NOx disappear, which can save transport for the Earl’s Court development site in Oxford Street recently were blamed companies thousands per month, and to streamline construction deliveries. on the concentration of diesel buses. roads are clear which gives shorter Chrys Rampley, RHA’s manager However, the ultra-low emission zone journey times. The process is compli- of infrastructure and security, says the planned for 2020 is projected to al- cated by the London Lorry Control introduction of consolidation centres most halve emissions of nitrogen oxide Scheme (LLCS), however, which adds are useful where there is supervision to (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10) miles to many journeys. Rampley says: control deliveries, adequate access and in central London. “Using two rigids instead of one artic parking for trucks and where loads can Retiming, once anathema to Lon- can save money if the route becomes genuinely be consolidated into more don Boroughs which stalwartly de- much more direct; it is a case of doing efficient movements. However, there fended residents’ right to undisturbed the maths. It would help greatly if we are difficulties if insufficient numbers sleep, has finally gained political ap- could achieve more flexibility with the of retailers or recipients buy into the proval as a way of separating HGVs LLCS though.” schemes in the long term. Rampley from VRUs, and improving congestion also makes the point that centres which and peak-time air quality. Currently The monstrous regiment break down loads to be shuttled into 30% of rush-hour traffic is freight but There are complications which will urban centres in smaller vehicles do this drops to 17% if averaged over the continue to clog London’s streets for not ease congestion. day. Retimed journeys can work well freight vehicles, however. There has Consolidation centres, driven by for services such as laundry collection, been a trend since pre-congestion those taking receipt of goods, will only commercial waste removal and even charge days for rigids to downsize into be half the battle. The other half will road repairs. vans; and currently there are five times be the need for widespread consistent Construction, food and drink and as many vans as HGVs in London. drop-off points for consumers. Deliv- service vehicles make up 75% of This figure will grow, driven by the ery hubs for consumers might become morning rush-hour London traffic. 13% growth in the UK home delivery more significant, such as Doddle which Currently only 15% of freight jour- market in 2015 (Metapack Delivery allows parcels to be sent or collected neys are at night, primarily because Index 2015) with its one billion–plus from train station bureaus. However, customers want deliveries or services parcels, and the increasingly tight time ➔

April 2016 Roadway 51 Focus ▶ Urban operations

S&J European Haulage

Urban trailer design is also improving manoeuvrability and allowing some hauliers to double-shift cabs between urban deliveries by day and motorway trunking at night. Melton Mowbray-based S&J European Haulage runs a specially designed Cartwright unit to manage tight corners and accesses. It’s a tandem-axle urban trailer with two SAF steering axles, complete with a remote control unit which enables the driver to steer the axles from within his cab. The steering system was provided by Dutch company VSE. S&J needed a 10m body but also to access a wide range of urban and construction sites. Cartwright says the new trailer offers greater versatility and a better payload than the alternatives.

Pictured right: windows offered to consumers. TfL has started a £4bn improvement Paragon Software The trend towards more numerous scheme to London’s ageing infrastruc- Systems’ MD, lower-weight vehicles might appear ture, including four more cycle super- Will Salter: urban politically welcome but is regressive in highways, intelligent signalling systems optimisation is more terms of load optimisation, congestion which prioritise groups of cyclists or achievable with and compliance. Vans are minimally pedestrians, and multiple road and detailed mapping regulated and the e-commerce parcels junction upgrades. Emmerson argues and careful interface market has encouraged greater use of that extensive cycle lanes have simply with GPS systems self-employed, non-vocational drivers. reprioritised road space, although the The e-commerce generation is now industry says HGV capacity has been being offered at not only same-day lost. but one-hour delivery. Store-collec- tion specialist Shutl is being joined in Routeing software almost-instant delivery by Amazon Routeing and scheduling software has Prime Now (APN), in selected Lon- been one of the ingredients of optimi- don postcodes. APN offers 10,000 sation for all predictable freight move- items, including basic groceries, and ments for some time. Paragon Software will potentially take the just-in-time System’s MD Will Salter says urban concept – which has already thwarted optimisation is more achievable with load and routeing efficiency in logistics sufficiently detailed mapping, careful – to a congesting extreme, with rapid, interfacing with GPS systems using low-load deliveries replacing the tradi- waypoints, and real-time optimisation tional sprint to the corner shop. Home delivery has been punishing for home delivery. Uber has trialled combining parcel for all concerned. Whether the move Paragon’s Route Control uses very and passenger services in three US cit- to instant delivery is driven by retailer detailed mapping and a background ies, but has no current plans to move competition or genuine consumer de- calendar system to optimise routes al- this to the UK. TfL’s Garrett Emmer- mand, at some point the strain on ur- lowing for the time-sensitive rules of son thinks the idea has the potential ban infrastructure will have to be miti- the LLCS, which saves operators from to encourage consumer deliveries out- gated either by the price of delivery or incurring fines. It can also map around side peak hours and away from offices by regulation. Faster deliveries means areas of likely congestion, whether back into the suburbs, although there smaller loads, more vehicles, less op- routine or event-specific. “Supermar- is currently nothing to indicate that the timisation and, therefore, ultimately kets have been asking us to do this for Uber model itself would alter consum- more congestion. some time,” says Salter. “No one else er behaviour. Furthermore, Uber has has this kind of routeing detail at the been part of a post-congestion-charge Highway capacity moment.” shift which has seen minicab growth in Transport for London, along with Paragon then combines its routeing London explode to 76,000 vehicles. many other local authorities, has with Inrix speed data and waypoints to Meanwhile, pallet companies are looked carefully at how to maximise its ensure that the satnav device in the cab trying to adapt their B2C models for road network. This is, of course, a po- matches the Paragon suggested route B2C kerbside deliveries with heavier litical as well as an engineering issue. in every detail. Finally it uses its HDX freight. The problems with this are The 11 percentage point shift from car continuous optimiser for clients, such numerous and the networks are still use to walking, cycling or public trans- as Argos, to ensure that e-commerce debating how to adapt their services to port in London necessitates a match- buyers are given route-optimised slots allow better operational practice and ing shift in investment and a more for delivery, with its software engine sustainable pricing. complicated pattern for road sharing. making real-time calculations. n

52 Roadway April 2016 _Roadway_Oct 2016 FINAL_20.09.2016.e$S:Roadway 21/09/2016 20:33 Page 38

Focus > Alternative fuels FUELLING CHOICE Louise Cole investigates the benefits of alternative fuels in reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the environment

here are competing agendas coupled with five consecutive years of The EC has also announced its around alternative fuels. One frozen fuel duty. This has made the expedited plans for CO2 limits across the is climate change, which business case for alternative fuels harder EU by 2019, covering certification of Tnecessitates limiting the pro- for individual hauliers to establish. CO2, fuel usage and fuel monitoring. duction and release of greenhouse (The consultation is open until October gases. Another is air quality, which has European standards http://ec.europa.eu/clima/consultations/ suffered markedly in city centres since Euro 6 has also driven the pollutants articles/0031_en.htm). Brexit is unlikely government incentivised the uptake of from diesel engines to minimal levels – to change our experience of these new diesel cars in order to cut greenhouse 1.5 g/kWh for CO, 0.13 for HC, 0.4 standards in practice, as the UK gas emissions from the mid-1990s. We NOX, and 0.01 for particulates. This too government is unlikely to shift its focus have since realised that diesel, however has affected the argument. The tailpipe away from air quality; and European much lighter on CO2 than petrol, chokes emissions benefits of alternative fuels – truck makers will sell trucks to the UK the air with nitrogen oxides (NOX), in particular the zero emission electric which meet European standards regard- particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons vehicles – have lost their edge in the air less, albeit perhaps a little slower. (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and quality debate with the latest ultra low It is questionable, however, whether ammonia. And the third agenda emission standards. enough funding has been put into concerns a sustainable, politically- Nonetheless, the UK is committed to greening the freight sector. Transport independent energy supply. eliminating carbon and greenhouse gas Minister Andrew Jones announced These needs then have to dovetail emissions from transport by 2050. This £19m in June to help van and truck with what is practical for operators in will undoubtedly require an end to the operators cut emissions, but an terms of duty cycles, range, cost and use of fossil fuels. This is part of the undisclosed portion of this money will refuelling; and what is possible in terms international Kyoto Protocol and is go to electric charging points, which tend of vehicle engineering. The alternative driven in the UK by the Climate Change to be useful to consumers rather than fuels market has seen two major Act. The European Commission (EC) professional drivers. Euro 6 Mercedes-Benz advantages knocked away in the past has just set its member state 2030 However the Low Carbon Vehicle Actros of Yearsley two years; until recently, diesel prices reduction targets for greenhouse gases, Partnership (LowCVP) will be offering Logistics had dropped consistently since 2014, with the UK at 37%. accreditation for low carbon tech- nologies, in particular the suitability and performance of retrofit options, to encourage uptake.

Fuel options Vehicle weight, application and ease of access to refuelling have always defined the fuel options for hauliers. Electric battery technology is now well estab- lished in the consumer and van markets, with 1,000 vans being sold last year, and major fleet uptake. By 2017 British Gas will have replaced at least 10% of its LCVs with EVs, reducing emissions and – it claims – introducing savings up to 20% of running costs in London and 6-10% elsewhere. The business case for vans is stacking up with the ULEZ coming into play for

38 Roadway October 2016 _Roadway_Oct 2016 FINAL_20.09.2016.e$S:Roadway 21/09/2016 20:33 Page 39

Alternative fuels < Focus

vans in at least three cities, possibly as Daimler e truck battery early as 2019. The plug-in architecture in cities has Existing plant come on apace but most fleets will be can easily be adapted using commercial premises and not and our sources of opportunistic charging. The question ‘‘ now is about grid resilience – can we organic waste from UCO charge vehicles in any serious number [Used Cooking Oil], without the lights going out? abattoir slurry and other The Ofgem trial My Electric Avenue waste hydrocarbon tested the resilience of residential power Electric charging point supply over three years and found that streams are plentiful 32% of local networks would require Jonathan Murray, LowCVP intervention when 40% or more of operations and policy director customers had EVs. Presumably depots ’’ full of electric vans would make intervention a necessity sooner. As for heavy duty cycle vehicles, the operators involved with the LCTT, or government’s major Low Carbon Truck operating gas vehicles on their own, rely Trial (LCTT) should be publishing its on refilling at or near base. There was a annual results this month. source of bioLNG in the UK but this closed in 2015. Source of gas Establishing public infrastructure was Overall, gas vehicles have been found a major part of the LCTT directive and trucks? But there aren’t many solutions to operate very well, says LowCVP companies such as Howard Tenens, for HGVs so biomethane could be a operations and policy director Jonathan which made its three refuelling sites at good option.” Murray. In dual-fuel combinations, a Averley, Boston, and Andover available misalignment between combustion and to other hauliers have helped. As more Biodiesel after treatment can cause methane slip, refuelling sites join the grid, the carbon Second-generation biodiesel is also a but this is now understood and can footprint of the fuel will also drop. potential winner. Used cooking waste be rectified. However, biomethane, which is easy (UCC) has been used “with outstanding The major brakes on gas – whether to produce from waste and useful in success” by the supermarket distribution LNG, CNG, or biomethane – are a microgenerated quantities, is not readily networks during the LCTT says Murray. lack of infrastructure and sectoral available for transport. “We are at a The second-generation fuel moves away competition for supply. As of February policy crossroads,” says Murray. “We from FAME (fatty acid methyl esther) 2016 there are 10 public and 14 private could provide enough biomethane to to HVO – hydrotreated vegetable LNG sites; eight public and eight private power the HGV fleet but the argument oil – which is proving a hit with manu- CNG sites; and two public and one has not been resolved at to where we use facturers because it is indistinguishable private site for L-CNG. A lack of this fuel: for heat, injected into the from diesel in vehicular terms and can geographic spread means most national grid, at refineries or purely for be blended to much higher levels. HVO ➔ EvoEnergy

Alternative fuels do not only apply to vehicles, but commercial installation. However, operators need Mawbey says the carbon savings from also to other power sources within the business. to use as much of the electricity generated as solar panels are still “huge”. Aldi’s new EvoEnergy is a provider of solar arrays, with 500 possible during the day, meaning installations distribution centre in Cardiff is expected to commercial clients including BMW and Aldi. should be sized against usage needs – also produce 1 ,398MWh and will save 641 tonnes in Distribution centres and warehouses are prime meaning that night-time operations or the carbon annually. places for solar panels. Solar energy brings charging of an electric vehicle fleet will not Solar panels do degrade over time, with financial benefits in three ways: ‘free’ power, benefit from the solar electricity at all. efficiency dropping to 80% over 20 years. a generation tariff and a feed-in tariff on the Eventually battery technology will allow Mawbey says they will last longer and perform excess. Recent reductions in feed-in tariff have storage of the energy generated at viable prices – better with a maintenance contract, as dirt alone made the business case more financially something Mawbey expects within two years – can reduce efficiency by 5%. Operators should challenging, however. and the business case will shift once again. (Tesla bear in mind that while the installations will take Marketing director Jordan Mawbey says that has been marketing its Powerwall battery to the best part of a decade to pay for themselves, 8-10 years is a typical payback period for a consumers for more than a year.) they are usually only under warranty for five years.

October 2016 Roadway 39 _Roadway_Oct 2016 FINAL_20.09.2016.e$S:Roadway 21/09/2016 20:33 Page 40

Focus > Alternative fuels

Dearman Engine Macro, or Dearman TRU-2

Green is always good but it is in reality a ‘‘‘soft benefit’ to the real issue. The drivers are always financial or

is likely to be the fuel that delivers our conventional fuel use with driver operational gains 2030 Renewable Fuels Target Obligation behaviour programmes, consolidation Will Maycock, head of transport, and it will be invisible to operators, much centres, Euro 5 and 6 vehicles and the Yearsley as B5 and B7 have been. use of double-deck trailers. It has ’’ Currently the introduction of HVO reduced CO2 emissions per mile by 70% is impeded by a lack of leadership. and NOX emissions by 63%, among specific targeted vocational training There is limited refinery capacity in many other success metrics. So what across all the workforce,” he says. “We Europe for HVO and decisions need to does it need to move away from diesel also support trialling of autonomous be made at a governmental level. and into alternative fuels? vehicle technologies and we’d like to see “Existing plant can easily be adapted Will Maycock, head of transport at grants which support engine conversion and our sources of organic waste from Yearsley, says: “Green is always good to LNG/CNG where these fuel options UCO [Used Cooking Oil], abattoir but it is in reality a ‘soft benefit’ to the are viable.” slurry and other waste hydrocarbon real issue. The drivers are always Maycock also thinks there should streams are plentiful,” says Murray. financial or operational gains.” be more support for intermodal move- Frozen food logistics specialist He would like to see more support for ments, such as rail and improved port Yearsley Logistics is a good example of green transport. “I’d like the ability to infrastructure, and feeder services to cut an operator which has driven down divert some of the apprenticeship levy to mileage. “It would also help to repeat and/or expand the longer semi-trailer trial which is now closed for new applicants,” he says. Dearman Technology “Competition is fierce in the market- place. Collaboration, consolidation, One particular area of concern is the efficiency of and generates power for fans, lights and an reducing the amount of empty miles refrigeration units, which are currently unregulated additional refrigeration system, providing extra therefore the number of vehicles on the and can be both power- and emissions-heavy. cooling power.” The system is quiet, zero emission road, and thus the cost is where the real Dearman Technology, funded by private and Innovate and produces no waste heat; the Dearman engine push is,” he says. “The real constraints [of UK money, is currently in trials with Sainsbury’s to also captures energy from the expanding gas, alternative fuels] are around cost of im- further development of its nitrogen-based cooling increasing its efficiency. plementation and network infrastructure system. Liquid nitrogen is kept at -196 degrees C. Sainsbury’s is the first company to trial the to support the use of an alternative fuel Warm it even a few degrees and it expands 710 times Dearman liquid nitrogen engine in a refrigerated such as LNG or CNG. The network to in volume as a gas. delivery truck. Dearman claims the three-month trial, provide these fuels fits certain fleets but A Dearman spokesman explains: “Liquid nitrogen which started in June, will save 1.6 tonnes of CO2, not others. We see environmental is run through a heat exchanger in the back of the 37kg of NOX and 2kg of PM. Dearman says that it improvement as a long-term endeavour truck, where it absorbs heat from the chilled or frozen expects five more trials to be underway by the end and focus on choosing the correct compartment. Nitrogen gas is then fed to the of the year and a commercial version of the product systems and infrastructure to have a Dearman Engine, where it expands, drives a piston is slated for mid-2018. faster, smarter, leaner, cheaper and environmentally better supply chain.” 8

40 Roadway October 2016 Cycle safety Duty of care

Is the issue of cycle safety in London disproportionately focused on HGVs? Louise Cole reports on the balance of responsibility of all road users

f you follow stories about road safety – and it’s now being rolled out nationwide. initiatives in London, you might be for- Although aimed at the construction industry, given for thinking there had been eight the standard doesn’t differentiate between deaths this year; all of them cyclists, six construction and non-construction vehicles. of them women and seven of them killed The standard says it ‘applies to all vehicles over Iby trucks. 3.5-tonnes GVW’, according to a spokeswoman. While we don’t have the total figures for 2015 Participants are also encouraged to mandate yet, the most recent release puts these eight the standard throughout their supply chain, deaths in some kind of context. In 2014 there and Clocs notes that Fors membership has were 127 fatalities on London’s roads including risen by 79% since Clocs’ introduction (Fors 27 motorcyclists, 13 cyclists, 64 pedestrians and bronze being a primary requirement of the 19 car drivers. Two commercial vehicle drivers standard). also died. A further 2,000 people were seriously Clocs goes far beyond the requirements of Balance of power and responsibility injured, including 419 cyclists, 715 pedestrians UK health and safety or road transport regula- Compliance Bureau senior compliance con- and 499 motorcyclists (casualties in greater tion. UK health and safety law demands that sultant Ian Brooks says: “We have systemic London 2014). operators identify, assess and mitigate risk with problems [in terms of road safety] and need It’s clear that vulnerable road users take the ‘all reasonable measures’. The definition of systemic solutions, not just technology.” He brunt of road safety lapses. It also becomes reasonable includes practicality and affordabil- believes that engineering can only take us so clear that the cycling lobby has significant ity in relation to the size of the risk. While there far: “70% of all collisions are caused by human political muscle and the issue of cycle safety in is perhaps an argument to be made that the factors,” he says. London has received disproportionate focus, risk to cyclists (although small and dropping) It could be argued that part of recognising with the bulk of interventions falling on HGVs, demands greater mitigation from London those human factors is for cyclists also to bear not cyclists. construction vehicles than otherwise prescribed responsibility for taking all reasonable precau- The construction logistics industry working by law, the argument that justifies £3,000 per tions, including hi-vis clothing and helmets. group on cycle safety Clocs says it will “revolu- truck mitigation across all applications and The cycling lobby refutes such suggestions as tionise the management of work-related road regions is far weaker. distractions from the root causes of its problem risk and ensure a road safety culture is embed- Asked whether the Clocs standard would and states that helmets only prevent injury in ded across the industry”. While Fors is seen as keep shifting, a spokesperson tells MT: certain circumstances and never in London’s broadly encompassing best practice (often “Clocs is expected to be a progressive standard HGV collisions. described by operators as “the stuff you should and as new technology and design features However, 75% of cyclists killed have major be doing anyway”), Clocs unashamedly raises become more commonly available, the Clocs head injuries (rospa.com/road-safety/advice/ the bar well beyond the dictates of road trans- standard will need to adapt to continue to pedal-cyclists/facts-figures/). Hospital data port regulation or what is expected or recom- be the good practice benchmark for the shows that more than 40% of cyclists, and 45% mended by UK health and safety legislation industry.” of child cyclists, suffer head injuries. A study of 116 fatal cyclist accidents in London and rural areas found more than 70% of the cyclist fatal- Cemex gives solid support for Fors and Clocs ities in London had moderate or serious head Northern regional logistics manager at Cemex UK, Carl Milton, welcomes both the Fors and Clocs injuries, and more than 80% of those killed in standards, provided they remain based in best practice with relation to the vehicle application and are collisions on rural roads. consistent. He makes the point that construction vehicles tend to be kept for up to a decade and so there Rospa says 16% of cycling fatalities do not are fewer fleet renewal opportunities to regularly usher in new standards than with other types of fleet. involve another vehicle. This is borne out by He says underrun protection has been useful and successful, filling a void on an artic large enough to fit the site Beyond the Kerb which documents all a small car. Cemex drivers have also witnessed pedestrians ducking under the vehicles, a manoeuvre the UK cycling deaths this year (53). Eight of these underrun bars prevents. had no sign of another vehicle. Underrun bars cost £750, retrofitted mirrors £100 each, sidescan protection £400-500. Milton would like Cycle safety has become a highly politicised to see more safety equipment factory-fitted. Cemex has taken its responsibility to vulnerable road users so issue. London mayor Boris Johnson has a seriously that it did not have a single reportable incident involving this group in London in 2013 or 2014 – £913m Vision for Cycling, which has put bicy- but it does want the Clocs scheme to fund greater research into effectiveness of different technological cles firmly in the centre of the capital’s, and aids. increasingly, the nation’s, public transport “We are rolling out cameras across the fleet, London first and anticipate insurance benefits,” says debate. Milton. “However, we do need to stay aware of the dangers of driver overload.” He makes the point that all There are half a million cycling trips a day in aids have a downside. “It takes six seconds for a driver to check every mirror in sequence – time in which the capital, 63% up between 2002 and 2012 with the road situation has changed.” current safety rates at one killed or seriously Equally the company has seen mixed results from trials of new technologies such as optical scanning, injured (KSI) for every 434,000 miles cycled. including forward-facing ‘visual algorithm’ cameras and radar sidescan technology. Its latest investment However, enforcement and education initi- is in automatic braking systems and adaptive cruise control, which stops the truck if a large object is atives have both been stepped up in London sensed too close to the front. with regard to cyclists. TfL funds the Cemex also runs exchanging places days, cycle training for drivers and shares its training resources Metropolitan Police Service’s Cycle Task Force, freely throughout the industry. the only police team to patrol on bikes and who educate road users and stop irresponsible

20 MotorTransport 7.12.15

MTR_071215_020-021new.indd 20 02/12/2015 12:10:07 motortransport.co.uk

THE ECONIC ON TRIAL Cemex trialled a Mercedes-Benz Econic for nine weeks with 15 drivers and has since bought one. Both were built to full Cemex UK tipper specification, sponsored by TfL – the first eight-wheel tipper of its kind. It has a (standard) 20-tonne load capacity; an aluminium insulated body designed for aggregates or asphalt; rear-steer axle to improve manoeuvrability; and height-adjustable air-suspension. A 350hp Euro-6, the Econic has an Allison automatic 10-speed gearbox with retarder and standard Cemex safety features including side-scan with audible warning, reactive braking, adaptive cruise control, lane deviation alarm, 360 camera system with data recorder and additional indicator. Milton says: “Is it a good urban vehicle? Absolutely. Beyond that? Not sure. We need to do more work in rugged environments to make sure it has sufficient ground clearance.” Although Cemex will continue to invest in camera technology because of its evident benefits, it says there is no behaviour. Operation Safeway, launched in worth of £23bn; 17,600 HGVs; 18,500 vulner- substitute for improved direct vision for November 2013, was designed to robustly able road user-trained drivers; 500 construction drivers. enforce the law and give road safety advice to sites and 2,500 utility sites. It says 170 compa- all road users during rush hour. In its initial nies use its online collision management tool six weeks, officers issued more than 13,500 and its strong links with manufacturers have fixed penalty notices and reports for summons produced creative truck designs, promising for a range of offences to all road users includ- more than 20 new high-vision trucks by the ing using a phone while driving, cycling with- end of 2015. out lights and for running red lights (half to However, Clocs’ evidence of its improvements cyclists and half to drivers). This enforcement in road safety is Fors data: an average 40% against cycling infringements continues. reduction in personal injury and 25% reduction in collisions for all Fors-accredited operators The pressures on London operators since they joined the scheme. But this does not The Safer Lorry Scheme closed the exemptions give any indication of whether the vehicle in the EU directives which specified Class V specifications, best practice measures, or and VI mirrors and underrun protection for indeed, simply the continual management all trucks. focus of some of the country’s strongest oper- Entwined standards Clocs and Fors are ators are responsible for these improvements. already mandated for government and construc- Certainly the evidence which Clocs says tion contracts. The Clocs standard goes well “shows the comparison of compliant operators beyond current road transport regulation, and against others” really does nothing of the sort. Cemex’s findings on the Econic mandates that blind spots are “completely It cites “TfL’s enforcement team’s data on road- Positives eliminated or minimised as far as is practical side stops” as showing that “Fors operators are l Overall driver vision improvement and possible through a combination of fully also far less likely to be involved in regulatory l Direct vision with VRUs operational direct and indirect vision aids and infringements; 76% less likely for licence/insur- l Low-cab driver access and egress driver audible alarms”. Additionally, the Clocs ance offences, 64% less likely for most serious l Camera system standard requires “all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes infringements.” However, as the whole point l Gearbox and retarder gross vehicle weight are equipped with of Fors is that it is a recognition scheme – the l Adaptive cruise control enhanced audible means to warn other road recognition coming mainly by way of a large l Rear steer axle users of a vehicle’s left manoeuvre”. There is blue logo on the vehicle – it is unsurprising if l Air suspension currently little evidence as to how much these vehicles do not get pulled over for anything l Vehicle lighting cameras, sensors or audible alarms enhance less than a blatant violation. l Access height and manoeuvrability road safety. The upshot is that it is very hard to tell Extensions to the Safer Lorry Scheme include whether Clocs, despite its average cost of £3,000 Negatives big side windows, retrofitted at a cost of around per truck to meet the standard, has in fact l Mirror arrangement – being worked on £1,000. A consultation will be held on the best reduced cyclist deaths. l Driver’s side access door narrower than way to enact this retrofit. Meanwhile, the All of this emphasis on freight transport also standard cab windows are mandated on any HGV working misses the wider points about cycle safety. The l Some drivers felt more vulnerable with for a London government construction project 2009-2013 UK average shows 58% of cyclists a low cab along with route restrictions which may require killed by cars; 5% by buses or coaches and 8% l Cab layout of switches, devices and special routeing software to avoid left turns. by vans and 23% killed by HGVs. 32% of all controls – which are being amended cycling occurs on rural roads yet 58% of cycling l Heating and ventilation with large glass Clocs – does it work? deaths occur on rural roads (pedal cyclist data area Clocs condensed many different standards into 2013 gov.uk). l Driver seat would benefit from armrest one, and so harmonised customer demands Furthermore while the rate of cycling is going and lumbar support for logistics companies and this has been use- up and the rate of cycling fatalities is falling, l In-cab storage needed for safety gear ful to operators. Clocs comprises: 165 accredited the numbers of cyclists seriously injured is and paperwork companies including 30 clients with a combined climbing disproportionately to either. ■

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