Balfour Beatty Living Places has signed the Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) Code of Conduct for all commercial vehicles travelling through Cambridgeshire.

The code ensures that all of the company’s HGV vehicles will avoid passing through villages wherever possible and will reduce the number of heavy HGVs on Cambridgeshire’s roads. The company’s supply chain partners will also adhere to the code.

The commitment also sets out a series of measures, such as observing weight and speed limits, that will help mitigate the negative effects of large trucks passing through the area. In practice, trucks will take longer routes where necessary, to avoid vehicles travelling along narrow roads.

Joe Goldie, Balfour Beatty Living Places contract manager, revealed that in addition to signing the HGV Safer Roads Covenant, the company is utilising Masternaut technology that will allow monitoring of driver behaviour:

He said: “Signing this code of conduct further supports our commitment to the local communities in which we operate and to create great places to live, work and play.

“Environment and safety improvements are always at the forefront of our minds, along every stage of a project. That’s why we use telematics and vehicle tracking in nearly 8,000 vehicles travelling across the country.

“We want to ensure that we are using our vehicles efficiently and this technology enables us to choose the right type of vehicle for the job. It also helps us to identify drivers who may need further training.”

The code of conduct is an initiative that Cambridgeshire County Council created. Councillor Mac McGuire, chairman of the highways and community infrastructure committee, said: “We welcome this new pledge from Balfour Beatty Living Places. It shows a serious commitment to reduce the number of large trucks and other commercial vehicle entering our villages and rural communities.

“We work with all our partners to help make Cambridgeshire a great place to live and this new agreement will help achieve that by improving road safety as well as reducing environmental pollution.”