{"id":55003,"date":"2015-03-11T13:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=f4bbb1660e26bb93b166768873c6fb68"},"modified":"2015-03-11T13:00:04","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T13:00:04","slug":"news-story-hgv-task-force-wins-safety-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=55003","title":{"rendered":"News story: HGV task force wins safety award"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>The task force was set up in October 2013 to reduce the number of cyclist fatalities caused by heavy goods vehicles (<abbr title=\"heavy goods vehicles\">HGVs<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n<p>Figures showed that 53% of cyclist fatalities in London between 2008 and 2013 involved direct contact with an <abbr title=\"heavy goods vehicle\">HGV<\/abbr>. <\/p>\n<p>The task force is made up of officers from the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (<abbr title=\"Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency\">DVSA<\/abbr>)<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/content.met.police.uk\/Home\">Metropolitan Police Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityoflondon.police.uk\">City of London Police<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s funded by <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tfl.gov.uk\/\">Transport for London<\/a> (<abbr title=\"Transport for London\">TfL<\/abbr>) and the Department for Transport. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"roadside-checks\">Roadside checks<\/h2>\n<p>The police and <abbr title=\"Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency\">DVSA<\/abbr> have the power to carry out spot checks on commercial vehicles. They\u2019re carried out to keep unsafe vehicles off the road. <\/p>\n<p>The officers check that the driver and vehicle aren\u2019t breaking any rules and regulations. <\/p>\n<p>They have the power to issue:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a prohibition, which stops the driver from driving until they get a problem with their vehicle fixed<\/li>\n<li>fixed penalties if the driver commits an offence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"call-to-action\">\n<p>Find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/roadside-vehicle-checks-for-commercial-drivers\/checks-on-your-vehicle\">roadside vehicle checks for commercial drivers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"task-force-successes\">Task force successes<\/h2>\n<p>In just under 12 months, the task force has:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>carried out over 360 roadside operations<\/li>\n<li>stopped over 3,000 vehicles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a result, it has:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>issued over 1,500 roadworthiness prohibitions<\/li>\n<li>seized 41 dangerous vehicles<\/li>\n<li>led to 25 prosecutions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"outstanding-contribution-to-transport-safety\">Outstanding contribution to transport safety<\/h2>\n<p>The <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecarmen.co.uk\/Default.aspx?tabid=161&amp;language=en-US\">Worshipful Company of Carmen<\/a> is the oldest transport organisation in the world.  The task force has been awarded its Royal Logistic Corps Safety Award for 2014.<\/p>\n<p>The award ceremony took place on 10 March 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The task force was recognised as the first permanent multi-agency team dedicated to targeting offences by the most dangerous commercial vehicles. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"working-together-to-make-roads-safer\">Working together to make roads safer<\/h2>\n<p>Road Safety Minister Robert Goodwill said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019m extremely pleased that the Industrial <abbr title=\"heavy goods vehicle\">HGV<\/abbr> Task Force and its contribution to transport safety have been recognised in this way.<\/p>\n<p>The government is committed to improving the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable road users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">The task force proves that by working together we can make London\u2019s roads safer for cyclists. The message to drivers and operators is simple: not complying with driver and vehicle standards isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Steve Burton, <abbr title=\"Transport for London\">TfL<\/abbr>\u2019s Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We are honoured to accept such a prestigious award for the contribution and dedication the Industrial <abbr title=\"heavy goods vehicle\">HGV<\/abbr> Task Force has shown in ensuring road safety regulations are met by the construction and waste vehicle industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">We know that non-compliant drivers and vehicles from these industries pose a safety risk to pedestrians and cyclists.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 id=\"guidance-to-stay-safe\">Guidance to stay safe<\/h2>\n<p><abbr title=\"Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency\">DVSA<\/abbr> produces a range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/collections\/vehicle-safety-and-maintenance-guides\">vehicle safety and maintenance guides<\/a> for operators.<\/p>\n<p>Both lorry drivers and cyclists can minimise risks if they\u2019re aware of each other and behave responsibly.<\/p>\n<p>Watch <abbr title=\"Transport for London\">TfL<\/abbr>\u2019s training video for lorry drivers and cyclists.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_QJKDyEVUss\">Driver and cyclist safety tips<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>London\u2019s Industrial HGV Task Force has been recognised for its outstanding contribution to transport safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55003\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}