Cycle safety campaign steps up a gear

Stockton Liberal Democrats are welcoming progress in progress on a cycles safety campaign. Cycle safety campaigners from the region have joined forces with Olympic gold medalist Chris Boardman in Brussels today to support tighter EU rules aimed at cutting the number of road deaths.

Kate Cairns from Northumberland, whose sister Eilidh was killed while cycling to work in London, attended the event on behalf of the See Me, Save Me campaign. She was joined by Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall whose work spearheading the issue through Parliament has been recognised by national safety charity Brake.

The event comes ahead of a vote in the European Parliament next month on proposals to redesign lorry cabs to eliminate lethal blind spots.

Fiona Hall MEP said:

"Improving the design of lorries will help save lives. Redesigned lorry cabs with a curvy nose, a crash box and better vision for drivers could drastically improve lorry safety and prevent hundreds of fatal collisions every year.

"The lorries on our roads come from all over Europe so it is particularly important that we act at the European level on this issue."

Kate Cairns said:

'It is exactly five years since we lost my sister, Eilidh, after she was run down from behind by a tipper lorry. The driver didn't see her. The See Me Save Me campaign calls for mandatory elimination of lorry blind spots.

"It's a painfully slow process with much tragedy in the meantime but I am encouraged by this momentum and welcome the opportunity to join forces to continue the fight to reduce such violent death and injury on our roads."

Chris Boardman commented:

"By adopting these recommendations the EU could play an important role in changing our transport habits to benefit us all. It would be criminal for us to know how to save lives and then choose not to take action."

Photo attached of Fiona Hall and Kate Cairns from today's event.

Every year lorry crashes cause 4200 road deaths in Europe, many of which are pedestrians and cyclists in cities. The Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show that cyclist deaths in the UK rose 10% during 2012 to 118, with serious injuries rising to 3,222

The European Parliament Transport Committee is due to vote on new proposals on the weights and dimensions of lorries on the 11th February 2014. More details on the report and amendments can be found here.