Cycle safety mirror installed in county-first pilot

A pilot scheme to improve safety for cyclists at a busy city road junction has launched.

Oxfordshire County Council has installed a new Trixi mirror at the London Road and Headley Way junction in Headington, Oxford.

A Trixi is a mirror that is fitted to traffic lights to make it easier for larger vehicles, such as HGVs, to see cyclists using the cycle lane on their left side at road junctions.

The council said the mirror, which is the first of its kind in the county, should be used alongside vehicle mirrors, and should not be relied upon completely.

Due to the height and size of HGV cabs, drivers are often unable to see cyclists riding close to their vehicle.

Trixi mirrors, which are common in parts of Europe, were first trialled in London in 2010, with an initial 39 installed at junctions across the capital.

The mirrors were adopted by London's then-mayor, Boris Johnson, who hoped their installation would help prevent collisions by revealing cyclists and pedestrians hidden in lorries' blind spots.

It came in response to a report at the time that found a disproportionate amount of road fatalities in London happened when cyclists were struck by lorries turning left.

In 2012, the use of Trixi mirrors by local authorities across the country was authorised by the coalition government of the day.

More than a decade later, Oxfordshire's first has been installed at one of the county's busiest junctions.

The county council said it would monitor the effectiveness of its first Trixi mirror.

Its installation follows the completion of earlier safety work at the same junction, including improvements to cycling infrastructure.

Plans to extend the cycle lane on the A420 London Road eastbound approach were also being investigated, the council said.

The project's are all part of the authority's Vision Zero strategy - which aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Oxfordshire's roads by 2050.

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