Transport for London has confirmed panel vans weighing over 3.5-tonnes will not have to fit extra mirrors and side guards as part of a plan to reduce cyclist deaths in the city.
TfL deemed that fitting the large mirrors onto vans would pose a safety threat to pedestrians and cyclists.
A Ford spokeswoman told What Van?: “As of April, TfL confirmed that Transit models are exempt from the Safer Lorry Scheme due to the extra mirrors not being more than 2m from the ground.”
From 1 September, new rules – under the Safer Lorry Scheme – were introduced meaning vehicles weighing at least 3.5-tonnes have to have Class V side proximity mirrors, Class VI front projection close proximity mirrors and a side guard in order protect pedestrians.
Although the scheme is primarily aimed at HGVs, when the legislation was originally drawn up, it did not differentiate between HGVs and LCVs weighing 3.5t.
The scheme is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is enforced by the police, the DVLA and the joint TfL and Department for Transport funded Industrial HGV Taskforce, with fines of up £1000 for each breech in the city.
TfL has now clarified that apart from panel vans other vehicles will not need to be fitted with the extra mirrors. These include: All types of compact sweepers (including the Johnston Sweepers 5000 series), Mercedes Chassis Cab Vario with two wheel drive, Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, Nissan Cabstar, Isuzu N Series (any up to 7500 kg) and Renault’s Mascott and Maxity.
