The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has estimated that an EU directive requiring all new lorries over 7.5 tonnes to be fitted with blind-spot mirrors will save up to 20 lives each year. Ruadhán Mac Cormaicreports.
The directive, which came into force yesterday, was passed by the EU's Transport Council in 2003 and then transposed into Irish legislation.
It stipulates that all new heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) now entering into service must be equipped with side and front-facing "cyclops" mirrors to improve the driver's vision.
There have been a number of fatal incidents involving cyclists and pedestrians who have been crushed under the wheels of lorries after they were too close to the vehicle to be seen by the driver.
The AA, the IRHA and a number of inquest juries in recent years called on the Minster for Transport to introduce measures to eliminate these blind spots.
Jimmy Quinn of the IRHA said he was "delighted" that the directive had come into force.
"We're pushing this for three years, and we think it's worth maybe 15 to 20 lives a year in this country. That's an enormous saving in trauma and I'm thrilled that it's in."
While the directive applies only to newly registered lorries, the EU council of transport ministers last December agreed a separate directive requiring the retrofitting of blind spot mirrors to all HGVs registered since 2000.
This has yet to pass through the European Parliament.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen and his British counterpart, Douglas Alexander, had wanted the directive to go further and had supported the commission's earlier proposal that all HGVs registered after 1998 should be fitted with the mirrors.
However, Mr Cullen said it was necessary to move the date to 2000 to secure the agreement of other member states. This is expected to become law this year and all retrofitting will be required to be completed by 2010.