#hardwarerevolution

Trading places between cyclists and truck drivers is a beautifully simple idea. HGVs pose a huge risk to cyclists, which is why campaigners for cycle safety, including Chris Boardman, have been calling for restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles during peak hours citing Paris and Dublin as examples of the benefits.

In the meantime however, seeing the road (or rather, not seeing the road/blind spots!) from a truck driver's position can be pretty enlightening. That's the theory.

McGee and McAlpine host these events regularly, catching the commuters whizzing on two wheels into the city. I couldn't resist checking out the Trading Places event in London last week to, ahem, relive my childhood dream of being a lorry driver.

Everybody thinks trucks and cyclists are at war on the streets, but talking to McGee drivers, it became clear they are doing everything they can to improve the situation on London’s roads. McGee spend around £2000 fitting sensors, cameras and mirrors on each lorry. Every one of their drivers will do additional training to refresh them on proper driving practices, to ensure cyclists are always considered in every manoeuvre, something that isn’t covered in great detail in driving tests.

Sitting in the cab, I saw just how limited a driver’s visibility is on the kerb side, and directly in front of the cab - the famous blind spot we hear so much about. TfL’s Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) and EU regulations now make it very hard for a lorry registered after 2000 to enter London without the latest mirrors installed. These further reduce blind spots, but they’re nowhere near eliminated. Smaller fleets may not always have the resources to install optional mirrors, sensors and cameras. Red tape is a financial strain on all companies, but hits the smallest fleets the hardest.  

When you’re in the cab, you realise that with all the sensors and cameras turned on, what was called a 6-point check in my driving test becomes more like a 10-point check. Drivers reading this, how many of you consistently do 6-point checks, or can even name the 6 points? If regular car drivers like myself find 6-point checks unrealistic, then what hope is there for lorry drivers, who must be overloaded with information? I’ll be the first person to hold my hands up and say my checks when driving are inconsistent. This makes me think that pointing fingers at “stupid cyclists” or “stupid drivers”, with increased regulation, is not the answer to increased cycle safety.

McGee drivers acknowledged it can be difficult, with all their years of experience, to adapt to new behaviours, but it’s great that they realise this. Nobody likes being told what to do. If I had to attend a speed awareness course, I’d tick the attendance box, but would I change my style of driving? The problem is, most of these drivers feel they haven’t done anything wrong. The drivers who are sent to speed awareness courses haven’t yet injured themselves or other road users, and likewise, the lorry drivers. Do the people attending remedial classes feel the need to change their driving style or is it only in injuring themselves or others, that people will change their habits?

It’s an issue that should be tackled by psychologists, as there must be a better way to get people to change their habits. MOVE1's campaign "Sitting is the new enemy" is a really strong campaign that had an effect on me. Visually, it struck me, as it was completely different to all the other platform advertisements. They weren’t trying to sell me something, instead showing me a clean-looking billboard, with just a single image, and a tagline. Subsequently, I looked up what it was about, and read some scary reports about how inactivity will likely cause this generation to live 5 years fewer.

MOVE1 realised that a single billboard is unlikely to get people to change their habits. Instead, it is the start of a conversation with someone that continues online or at other touchpoints. Speaking personally, I don't think that TfL's campaigns targeting cycle safety are as effective as they could be. I strongly believe they could learn a few things from the MOVE1 campaign, having seen how telling people like me what to do doesn’t always work.

Harry's Essentials for an Effective Behaviour Change Campaign:

Have a simple message that CHALLENGES the norm, rather than an imperative.

Make people QUESTION their actions without feeling defensive about them.

Run a CONSISTENT, LONG-LASTING campaign, as behaviours are slow to change even with the perfect message.

McGee know that despite being one of the fleets that have installed lots of new technology in their lorries and retrained their drivers, there is still much more work to be done. Their events are brilliant, and they are receptive to new ideas to trial in their lorries; Blaze are looking into how technology can change road behaviour, without overloading drivers and cyclists with information. We hope to trial some concepts on the road with McGee soon.