London mayor to make cyclists and lorry drivers swap

In a bid to make London a safer place for cyclists, the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has put together a new drive aimed specifically at lorry drivers and cyclists. What he is proposing is that lorry drivers should have to cover a cycle awareness section in their HGV training and test, and cyclists need to climb into a lorry to see at what perspective the lorry driver sees London roads. Mr Johnson has made £3 million available to the scheme to encourage nervous cyclists as well as the intrepid kamikazes that can often been seen on London’s roads.

People using their bikes in London has actually grown by nine per cent in the past year, and that number is set to rise as public transport costs rise and the new bike hire scheme looks set to raise that number by a lot more. Cycling is already safer in the capital than 10-years ago according to Mr Johnson, but already this year 10 people have died on the roads of London in cycling-related accidents. As the number of cyclists looks set to rise, it is a preemptive strike by the mayor, to bring to light safety concerns for riders in London. Training for all on the roads is an excellent way to bring awareness to the plight of cyclists.

Mr Johnson’s cycle hire scheme is still set for next summer even though it has already been pushed back a little. Planning application has already been submitted for the bike parks across London. Another measure that is in the pipeline includes new cycle highways from outer London into the centre to make it safer for cyclists to travel along.