Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said that HGVs would be given a rating out of five for the visibility offered to drivers. Those scoring zero would be banned by 2020; those scoring below three would be banned by 2024.

HGVs make up about 5 per cent of traffic on the roads but account for more than half of cyclist fatalities and more than a fifth of pedestrian deaths, blamed on the large blind spots on their left flank and in front of the driver’s cab.

 

Transport for London said there were about 35,000 zero-rated lorries on the capital’s roads. Most of these are “off-road” vehicles designed for construction sites. The cabs in these lorries tend to be high off the ground and have narrow windows with large blind spots.

Safety campaigners, including the Times Cities Fit for Cycling campaign, have backed calls for haulage and construction companies to use lorries with safer designs, including large windows, see-through doors, lower cabs, side bars and extra mirrors and sensors.

Mr Khan said: “I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy. Our direct vision standard will be the first of its kind in the world, directly addressing the issue of lethal driver blind spots. I’m also proud that TfL will lead by example and will not use any zero-star lorries in its supply chain from the new financial year.”

The Greater London Authority will not give contracts to firms whose lorries fall below the standard and TfL has encouraged developers and councils to do the same.

Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: “Lorries designed in the 1970s for use in a quarry have no place on the streets of a 21st-century city.”

Zero-rated lorries will get one star for fitting extra side windows or lower dashboards. Those with side bars and extra mirrors will get three stars and those with low cabs and panoramic views will get five stars.

Experts at the Transport Research Laboratory warned that even five star-rated lorries would pose a significant risk to cycling, making the case for more segregated bike lanes.

London has an average annual budget of £91 million for cycling; the Department for Transport spends £60 million a year on the rest of England.