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After much discussion, Transport for London (TfL) has finalised a star system that will be applied to Euro 6 vehicles to evaluate how much a driver can see from within their vehicle’s cab. The system, called the Direct Vision Standard (DVS)is due to be introduced in 2019. As the DVS will have fairly severe implications for zero-rated vehicles, it’s worth getting to grips with itas soon as possible to see if it will affect your haulage contracts in and around London. What is DVS? The Direct Vision Standard will rank Euro 6 trucks from 0 to 5, depending on the extent of a driver’s vision directly through their windows. The system does not take into account what can be seen indirectly, through cameras and mirrors for example. The aim of the scheme is to prevent avoidable collisions with vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, and tackle HGV blind spots. How Does it Work? The rating is dependent on how much the driver can see of the particular areathat’s been identified as posing the highest risk to vulnerable road users. Put simply, the more a haulier can see of this area, the higher the truck scores on the DVS system. To go into a little more detail, the area is split up into various zones, each of which has a different weighting when calculating the HGV’s score. The sections of the zone where the most accidents happen are the most significant; if a driver can see this area they can take pre-emptive action to avoid a collision. It gets very technical beyond this, as assessors work out the total volume of the highest risk area that can be seen directly by the driver – which is done using a defined technical measurement. Once an overall score has been calculated for the truck, it is translated into a star rating. Consequences At the moment, the primary consequence of this system is that any HGV that scores zero on the testing will be prohibited from entering Greater London. However, this won’t come into force until 2020, so companies with low-scoring vehicles will have time to switch or upgrade if they plan to continue working on haulage contracts within the city. How to Get a DVS Rating To get a rating on an existing or new truck, you’ll need to get in touch with the manufacturers directly. If you’re enquiring about a vehicle you own, the manufacturers will need to know certaininformation, such as the age of your truck and the chassis number, before they can calculate the star rating. Although manufacturers are predicting a high rate of enquiries over the next few months, TfL has gained a commitment from them torespond within ten working days in the majority of cases. As HGVs with zero ratings will be excluded from Greater London by 2020 it’s worth sorting out a DVS rating sooner rather than later to avoid losing profitable haulage contracts. Get in touch with the maker of your truck and put your mind at ease. Author Plate Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching haulage contracts with available drivers. Over 5,000 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.
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