SINGAPORE - Buses and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will have to be installed with more blind-spot mirrors by October to make sure that their drivers have a better view of the areas next to the passenger door and below the windscreen.

The move, announced by Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Saturday, will affect around 18,600 heavy vehicles with maximum laden weight exceeding 12 tonnes and about 8,300 buses with maximum laden weight exceeding eight tonnes.

New HGVs registered from April 1 will need to meet either European or Japanese mirror standards, added the LTA.

These vehicles, which include cement mixers, tipper trucks and coaches, typically have higher windscreens and windowsills, reducing drivers' scope of vision.

The extra mirrors will alert them to pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists, especially when they turn at traffic junctions or change lanes, reads a press statement.

The Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Committee, which has studied safety standards in other countries, recommended the change after it saw that the mirrors will reduce blind spots, said its chairman Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, who is MP for Nee Soon GRC.

By October, buses and HGVs who do not meet the new standards will fail regular vehicle inspections.