Sainsbury’s launch a lorry designed specifically for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
The vehicle – which will be unveiled by Mayor of London Boris Johnson at City Hall – features 360 degree monitors, extra side lighting for road users at night and low side guards for cyclist safety. It was designed in collaboration with Solomon and Mercedes.
Retail & Operations Director Roger Burnley said: ‘This is an important step in our work to make London’s roads safer. We’ve put an enormous amount of thought and research into creating a truck that we hope will be the safest on the road – for all road users.
The truck has:
- New video technology in the cab giving 360 degree vision of the surrounding road
- New proximity sensors down the sides of the lorry that beep to alert the driver to other road users
- Side guard extensions and reflective infills to help stop cyclists from falling under the vehicle
- More indicators along the sides to increase awareness that the truck is turning
- More downlights along the sides that glow at night, giving the driver more visibility of road users in the dark
- A warning sticker to alert road users that they are in the driver’s blind spot
- A tail lift operation warning – so that there will be an audible sound when the tail lift is being lowered – that’s for anyone behind the vehicle
- Further driver training on higher safety standards in the truck
