Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police are marking Road Safety Week by taking increased action to reduce road danger, building on plans to eradicate death and serious injuries.
They are taking part in targeted high visibility and covert policing patrols on London’s roads, in order to crack down on people driving carelessly, recklessly and illegally, as well as educating all road users.
This is part of TfL’s work with police to trial a new initiative, Travel Safe Priority Areas, which is designed to tackle community road safety issues in local areas over a short period of time.
Action includes high visibility and covert policing, community and junior roadwatch sessions, where members of the public work with the police to educate drivers about the dangers of speeding, and communicating more information about speeding and road safety.
The trial is currently taking place in Shoreditch and Camden, following engagement with local residents. On Shoreditch Inner Road, measures are in place to tackle numerous collisions involving motorcycle and moped riders, as well as a higher than average number of people cycling injured at junctions.
TfL and the police are also targeting Camden High Road, where there has been an increase in collisions involving people cycling between 2017 and 2018.
Work to reduce road danger includes lowering speed limits to 20mph (32km/h) in central London, while around 9km (5.6 miles) of roads in the Congestion Charge Zone will have their speed limits lowered by March 2020. Work will be completed overnight to minimise disturbance.
Det Supt Andy Cox, from the Met’s Roads and Transport Command, said: “This is an important week to promote road safety and encourage drivers to not be complacent and think about the consequences that arise from serious collisions that can lead to life changing injuries and fatalities causing devastation to all involved including family and friends.
“Some 112 people died on London’s roads last year and working in partnership with TfL, the Met is striving to deliver Vision Zero through sustained education and enforcement.”
TfL’s Safer Junctions scheme is making life-saving changes to 73 junctions across the capital, and is now a key part of the work to reduce road danger. Work has now begun at Camberwell Green junction.
Work is due to begin on nine further junctions in the coming months, including Dalston Junction, Kennington Park Road/Braganza Street, East India Dock Road/Canton Street/Birchfield Street etc.
TfL is also working to remove the most dangerous lorries from London’s roads with the Direct Vision Standard. The scheme was introduced last month and seeks to eliminate dangerous heavy goods vehicle (HGV) blind spots. HGVs that fail to meet the new minimum safety standards will be issues a penalty charge from October 2020.
According to TfL, in 2018, 112 people were killed and a further 3,954 suffered serious injuries on London’s roads. That same year, people walking, cycling and riding motorcycles made up around 80% of all people killed on London’s roads, with 91 deaths.
