The ambitious plan aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on London’s roads by 40% by 2020 and was launched at the Waterloo IMAX roundabout this morning (6th June). This area has recently benefited from a range of enhancements to help improve the safety of all road users. This busy junction is also the first of a number that TfL is looking to introduce 20mph limits at in the next few years.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘I want London to be the most liveable capital city in the world and improving the safety of our roads is key to achieving this. We’ve made good progress in recent years, but we must do more. London’s population is rapidly increasing and the extra demand that this will place on our road network poses a significant challenge. That is why I have set a new target to cut the number of those killed or seriously injured by 10,000 – or 40 per cent – by 2020.’
Using detailed analysis of how and why people are injured in road collisions in the capital, and which groups are affected, TfL’s plan looks to ensure that the right measures are being taken to reduce casualties.
In total 56 key measures have been identified, including:
• Studying the experience of cities such as Paris and Dublin, where lorries over a certain size are restricted from certain parts of the city, or at certain times of the day.
• Ensuring substantial long-term investment on schemes to radically improve the safety of London’s main roads: TfL’s recent business plan set out how an unprecedented doubling of planned spending on London’s roads over the next 10 years will be spent, rising from a planned £1.9bn to around £4bn.
• Creating a London Vehicle Innovation Task Force: This group will consist of representatives from the motoring industry and work to identify, support and trial new systems such as advanced emergency braking systems for motorcycles and in-car driver feedback systems;
• Equipping boroughs with the skills needed to implement road safety improvements: A programme of training and best practice sharing for borough road safety teams will be put in place to ensure that the skills needed to make this step change in road safety in London are available;
• Focusing police enforcement: TfL will also use the best methods in intelligence analysis to help focus police enforcement to specific times and places in order to tackle driving behaviour that leads to the highest risk of collisions;
• Open data on collisions in London: The data on collisions in London will be made available online for the first time. A new tool to help boroughs better understand how to improve safety on their roads will be created and a digital speed limit map covering all of London’s roads will be updated and maintained, enabling a revolution in intelligent speed assistance technology.
Many of these measures could be rolled out across the UK in the longer term.
TfL has also recently joined the expert panel for the European Commission’s review of the Weights and Dimensions Directive for construction vehicles. By having a place on this panel, the needs of London’s vulnerable road users can be directly voiced at a European level, helping to further drive forward safety improvements.
There will also be a focus on safe vehicle actions, with a focus on the near term, including looking at improving the safety of the construction and logistics sectors and use of construction industry lorries in relation to cycling.
TfL will also work with and lobby the DfT, government and EU for changes to legislation on vehicle design and new technology on areas including design of commercial vehicles to give the driver maximum visibility as well as safety devices that reduce the likelihood of collisions with cyclists.
David Davies, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), said: ‘This is a sophisticated and innovative plan which sets ambitious targets to reduce casualties by 40%. At the same time it promotes walking, cycling and public transport which are important to making London a healthier and more sustainable world city. Some of the proposed actions, such as improved vehicle safety standards and eye-sight requirements, could have benefits well beyond the Capital.’
To download a copy of the Safe Streets for London plan, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/safe-streets-for-london.pdf
