Richmond Council has announced that it has installed Safety Shield Systems across its entire HGV fleet to protect cyclists.

Cycle Safety Shield + will first be installed across all of Richmond Council’s Heavy Goods Vehicles. It is also being trialled with Wandsworth Council. 

The technology is designed to make cyclists and other vulnerable road users safer by giving drivers warning if a collision is imminent and filtering out other objects to reduce driver distraction.

The new fully-integrated system uses multi-vision camera fitted to the vehicles including 360 3D vision and radar, and real-time visual and audible alerts as the risk of a collision increases.

The system can record up to one month of video, allowing recordings to be played back in the event of accidents or incidents on the road. All events are also logged in real time which will include time, date and vehicle location, showing time and type of alert.

Highways and Street Scene Cabinet member Cllr Peter Buckwell said: “This is the latest in cycle safety technology and the first time a fully integrated system of intelligent cameras, radar and recording will be used on any vehicles in the United Kingdom.

“Having got a sneak preview of the technology in action, I can see how useful it will be to the drivers of our heavy goods vehicles and what a difference it will make on the borough’s road users.”

Cllr Fleming, deputy leader and Cabinet member for Environment said: “Ensuring we provide an environment that is conducive to encourage more people to cycle to and from work and school will make a huge difference to the borough’s air quality and overall environment.

“Investing in new technology is an important part of achieving that goal and it is great to see Richmond Council leading the pack when it comes to making those investments.”

Pictured: (L) Cllr Hodgins, Cllr Buckwell, Nick O Donnell (Richmond Council assistant director), and Cycle Shield representative at the launch of the system.

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