Dublin councillors have agreed to support a motion seeking to allow only trucks with direct vision in Dublin City Centre. After a senior official said that there would be limitations with the idea, the issue will be referred to the councils mobility committee.The motion follows the death of 27-year-old Johnny Santos Xavier De Abreu, who was killed on April 1st after only three weeks in the country. The Brazilian student was cycling an electric bike at the corner of Middle Abbey Street and OConnell Street when a driver of a cement mixer was turning left.A disproportionatelylarge number of fatal left-hook turns involve trucks, and with that in mind, the direct vision standard aims to eliminate such collisions by adding improved mirrors, cameras, and, sometimes, glass in the lower part of truck doors. The screens for cameras with wider or lower views are placed in the line of sight of the passenger-side mirrors, and alert systems are also sometimes used.But a senior council official pointed out that the motion would only cover longer trucks. He said the council wants to make sure that the trucks that are using our city are as safe as possible, but that the suggestion, as written in the motion, would only affect a small proportion of trucks. A high number of collisions involving drivers of trucks turning left and people on bicycles in recent years has been with trucks with four or fewer axles, such as dumper trucks, bin trucks, and cement mixers.Cllr Ray Cunningham (Green Party), who proposed the motion, said: The most dangerous vehicles on our streets are heavy goods vehicles often drivers of these vehicles cannot see the pedestrians and cyclists around them.He pointed to other cities around, such as London, which have required the direct vision safety standards for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) with a start rating. Since October 2024, vehicles with three or more stars for visibility automatically receive permission once a permit is applied for, but other vehicles must be retrofitted with improved mirrors and cameras to obtain a permit to enter most of Greater London. In Dublin City, we already require permits for HGVs to drive in the core city and in other parts of the city. So we can roll this star rating into that permitting system immediately. What Im proposing is that, from 2027, we require every vehicle to have at least a one-star rating, from 2028 a two-star rating and so on, said Cllr Cunningham.He said it would have an effect throughout the city, as companies that own HGVs would switch to trucks capable of delivering to the city centre, which would also cover wider routes.Cllr Janet Horner (Green Party) said: The reason I pushed this a few years ago, as I said at the time, was a friend of mine was knocked down on the quays by a truck when it went to court, the driver was found not to be a fault because the driver could not see her on a bicycle immediately within the turning zone of that vehicle. She suffers lifelong injuries as a result and will never be able to fully walk without pain again.For a driver, there is no capability. The culpability is in the design, and unless we design out the flaw, other people will lose not just their lives, but also they will suffer lifelong consequences. It is urgent that we deal with it, she said.In a statement today, Cllr Horner said that, with the collision on Bachelors Walk, her friends road positioning was correct and legal, but the driver still couldnt see her. She said: The fault was not with the driver, not with the cyclist, but with the design.She called on the Minister for Transport to act on the issue. At the council meeting last night, Cllr Horner added: I hope that this week, when we see someone losing their lives in the streets again, we will not be found wanting when it comes to the opportunity to actually improve safety for everybody.Brendan OBrien, head of the councils transport department, said he welcomed the motion, but said that using the permit system for larger HGVs to drive into the city centre would limit the direct vision requirement to 5-axle trucks, and only in little more than the city centre, compared to the London system that applies to most of Greater London.He said the council wants to make sure that the trucks that are using our city are as safe as possible, but that the suggestion, as written in the motion, would only affect a small proportion of trucks. OBrien is suggesting referring the issue to the councils mobility committee to look at options.OBrien also suggested that we could look at EU standards. The EUs General Safety Regulationrequires direct vision measures for trucks sold after 2024, but additional regulations, such as those put in place in London, would be needed to ban non-compliant trucks from certain areas.Similar to the issue of extending the 5-axle permit system to 4-axle trucks, the council relies on the national Government to bring in regulations that it can then use. Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party) asked that the council also write to the Minister for Transport to look at improving legal provisions that the councils can use to implement a permit system, which the Lord Mayor, CllrRayMcAdam (Fine Gael), said he would do.On the day when Johnny Santos Xavier De Abreu died, the Lord Mayor said: My thoughts are with all those involved and with the emergency services at the scene.We must continue to do all we can to improve road safety across Dublin. Our city belongs to everyone, and we all need to look out for one another.A letter from his sister, Isabela, was posted on social media. She said [translated]: April 1, 2026, was the day of the worst nightmare for our family. I write this letter with tears in my eyes. Brother, you couldnt imagine how much you were loved. Your departure left a huge hole in our hearts. Our family is in mourning.Mom is completely distraught by your departure. You know how much you were always Moms baby. Dad is also very shaken. Grandma Isabel is devastated. You were so loved by all of us, my brother. I ask God to receive you with open arms. I will always love you from here to eternity, she wrote.She added: Thank you for everything you did for our family and me, especially for Liz. Today, you are no longer here on this earth, but I know that, from above, you are watching over all of us. We love you very much. Your time here on Earth was beautiful. Rest beside the Lord and continue to watch over us. My little star, my guardian angel. With love, your sister, Isabela.