Super sewer setting the bar for worksite safety

Tideway, the company building London’s super sewer, is investing in a new fleet of HGVs, designed to be safer for cyclists and pedestrians, as part of a number of safety measures on the project. 

The 15 innovative new ‘Low Entry Cab’ (LEC) vehicles, which have improved visibility, are set to arrive from April and will be available for use in mid-2018. The fleet is expected to increase through the life of the Tideway project.

LECs are a new design of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) which feature redesigned cabs that increases the amount of direct driver vision, providing a much better chance of drivers seeing vulnerable road users, especially cyclists.

Gordon Sutherland, Tideway’s Traffic and Road Logistics Manager, says, “Ensuring the safety of not only those working on site, but people travelling around our sites and sharing our construction HGV routes, is one of Tideway’s fundamental philosophies.

“That’s why we’re working with our contractors and their suppliers so that these vehicles are prioritised for use. We’re ensuring that these are prioritised at our inner London sites where the roads are busiest and popular with cyclists and pedestrians.”

To coincide with this approach, Tideway has launched an innovative driver safety workshop, which has been accredited by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency. 

Tideway has also been working with the Corporation of London and the City of London Police to inform cyclists of the dangers of getting too close to HGVs in the city through the Exchanging Places programme.

The programme provides cyclists with a short briefing with a Police Officer in the driver’s seat of an HGV to give them the best understanding of what drivers can, and more importantly can’t see when they are on the road.

Four road safety sessions have been held to date, with more planned in the coming year.