CLOCS welcomes £214 million investment in cycle safety
01 December 2014
CLOCS (Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety), a construction industry-led initiative set up to protect vulnerable road users, welcomes Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s announcement that the Government will be investing a further £214 million into cycle safety. With £114 million of this funding pledged to the Cycling Ambition Cities Programme, CLOCS calls on this scheme to sign up to the CLOCS Community and embed a road safety culture to protect vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
The Cycling Ambition Cities Programme – which has been granted £114 million over the next three years – supports the acceleration of the development of local cycling networks, increased protection for cyclists at junction and traffic hot spots and helps to prevent accidents. Currently there are eight cities on board: Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Oxford.
Nationally, large goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are involved in approximately 15 per cent of cyclist and 10 per cent of pedestrian fatalities and CLOCS is keen to encourage the regions covered under the Cycling Ambition scheme to implement the same initiatives that are already working so well in the London Boroughs, including the delivery of commercial ‘safe urban driver’ training, commitment to the CLOCS Standard and FORS accreditation.
CLOCS is an industry-supported, TfL-backed initiative, which came about as a result of the report of the same name published in 2013, which made a number of recommendations on how road accidents between members of the construction industry and vulnerable road users might be reduced. It is aiming for national reach via the roll out of a consistent standard for managing work-related road safety.
Jerry McLaughlin, Director, Economics and Public Affairs of the Mineral Products Association, a CLOCS Champion* organisation, said: “We really welcome this new funding and applaud the Government for the importance they are giving to this issue. Tragically, a disproportionate number of accidents which result in the death of a cyclist continue to involve vehicles from the construction logistics sector. The construction industry is working hard to improve road safety through the CLOCS initiative and the Cycling Ambition Cities Programme is increasing awareness of what is sometimes perceived as a London-centric issue across the country. All road users have a responsibility to help improve safety and hopefully we can all work together to ensure that these issues are addressed within plans for improving cycling and local road safety.
“The Cycling Ambition Cities Programme is a brilliant scheme which is increasing awareness of what is sometimes perceived as a London-centric issue across the country. The figures show how big a problem accidents with large vehicle road users are for cyclists and pedestrians and we hope they will work with us to ensure this vital factor is addressed in any plans for improving local road safety.”
ENDS
Media contacts:
Caroline Holmes, 020 7952 1072, cholmes@automotivepr.com
Sarah Morris, 020 7952 1075, smorris@automotivepr.com
Notes to editors:
Implemented by local authorities through planning conditions and construction clients through contracts, the CLOCS Standard provides a common set of requirements to manage work-related road safety that can be adhered to in a consistent way by fleet operators.
For more information visit http://www.clocs.org.uk/
Between 2008 and 2013, 55 per cent of cyclist fatalities in London involved a heavy goods vehicle and nationally large goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are involved in approximately 15 per cent of cyclist and 10 per cent of pedestrian fatalities. A disproportionate number of these were construction vehicles. In 2012 Transport for London commissioned an independent review of the construction sector’s transport activities to understand the causes of these collisions and how they might be prevented. The resulting ‘Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety' (CLOCS) report was published in February 2013 by the Transport Research Laboratory.
In response, the construction logistics industry demonstrated its commitment to change and identified actions under three work streams to improve road safety. CLOCS brings together the construction logistics industry nationwide to revolutionise the management of work-related road risk and embed a road safety culture across the industry as the UK's population and economy grows.
- Improving vehicle safety through design and manufacture of safer new vehicles and fitment of appropriate safety equipment to existing vehicles
- Addressing the safety imbalance in the construction industry through ensuring road safety is considered as important as health and safety on site
- Encouraging wider adoption of best practice across the construction logistics industry through taking best-in-class examples, developing a common national standard and embedding a new cultural norm.
*CLOCS Champions
CLOCS Champions are organisations and /or individual construction projects actively implementing the requirements within and ensuring compliance to the CLOCS Standard. These may be fleet operators, construction clients, developers or other organisations which by the nature of their business may not be able to actively implement the Standard but commit to supporting its implementation and purpose.
Champions are listed on the CLOCS website and are able to use the CLOCS logo and branding elements on their site material and stationery to promote CLOCS and specifically the Standard.
Organisations wishing to become CLOCS Champions should read the Terms of Reference and sign a Memorandum of Understanding, both of which are available on the CLOCS website, www.clocs.org.uk.