Exchanging Places Sky Studios

Day Aggregates were asked by the Metropolitan Police to join their event ‘Exchanging Places’.

The event took place at Sky Studios and is designed to offer cyclists the chance to swap places with drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV’s) to see the road from their perspective and better understand their visibility. It is also hoped that the events help to promote responsible behaviour among cyclists.

Day Aggregates has supported a number of these invaluable sessions. Throughout the event, the police encourage cyclists to literally sit in the driver’s seat while their bike is moved along the near side and to the front of the cab.

Although some people may have an idea, it is always enlightening for the public to see for themselves the challenges that HGV drivers face every single day.

There were some key takeaways from the day, with one cyclist commenting on how “It was extremely hard to be looking into multiple mirrors and using the visual warning devices and cameras, at the same time as looking through the front windscreen”.

Day Aggregates has long been committed to upgrading the safety features within its lorries and additional driver training. This is in response to increased concern nationally about cyclist and lorry incidents as well as new customer requirements. It is fair to say we have reached a point now where we can boast some of the best equipped vehicles and best trained drivers operating in London.

“It was extremely hard to be looking into multiple mirrors and using the visual warning devices and cameras, at the same time as looking through the front windscreen”.