Edinburgh council invests £25 million in new HGV fleet with extra safety equipment

The 152 HGVs - consisting of bin lorries, road sweepers, road gritters, mobile libraries, construction vehicles and utility trucks - and the 27 buses, used to transport children with Additional Support Needs, are fitted with cameras, sensors and warning systems to help reduce the likelihood of collisions.

The council is investing more than £25 million in the vehicles as part of its wider £56.8m fleet asset management plan up to 2029.

Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson takes the wheel of one of the new HGVs during a visit to the council's Bankhead depot | Edinburgh City Council

It comes after 11-year-old Thomas Wong was killed after colliding with a bin lorry in Barnton as he cycled to school in March last year.

The council has already taken delivery of over 70 of the new HGVs, with all new refuse collection vehicles expected to arrive by the end of March 2025 and all other HGVs due to be in service this year.

The council said it had taken inspiration from the Progressive Safe System (PSS) implemented by Transport for London (TfL) in October 2024, which requires vehicles to have enhanced safety equipment including camera monitoring system fitted to the vehicle’s nearside, blind spot mirrors sensors, moving-off sensors fitted to the front of the vehicle, side under-run protection on both sides of the vehicle, audible warning alerts when vehicles turn left and prominent visual warning signage.

The new fleet is fitted with cameras, sensors and alarms in a bid to reduce the risk of collisions | Edinburgh City Council

All the new vehicles are also fitted with an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), which uses sensors to monitor a vehicle's surroundings and automatically apply the brakes if a collision is likely.

And although the welfare buses are not classed as HGVs, the council decided to order them with the new safety features since they operate in and around schools and built-up areas during peak travel times and it was felt important they were as safe as possible for everyone.

Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson visited the council’s Bankhead depot to see some of the new vehicles first-hand and talk to the workers who operate them.

He said: “We have a responsibility to our colleagues and our residents to make sure our fleet is as safe as possible. This is why we’re investing tens of millions of pounds into our fleet.

“With these changes I’m confident that we have the most advanced local authority fleet in Scotland when it comes to safety features. I hope that other parts of Scotland and the UK will look to London and Edinburgh’s example and follow suit.

“Safety is an absolute priority for us when delivering our services and I have no doubt that these new features will have a positive impact.”