Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Reducing Road Deaths and Injuries in London England

Towards a Road Safety Action Plan for London: 2020 (115 page pdf, Mayor of London, Transport for London, July 2012)

Also discussed here: Towards a new Road Safety Action Plan for London: 2020 (Transport for London, July 2012)

And here: London’s road safety action plan(Jenny Jones, MayorWatch, Sep. 3, 2012)

Today we look at a consultation report from London to improve road safety. Among the 70 recommendations are some aimed at pedestrians and cyclists and youth between 18 and 23, both of which are showing increased or peak casualties from road accidents. The 10 key policy proposals call for a 40% drop in road casualties by 2020 though better communications, examining best case examples from other cities and making prime use of technology.
 
Key Quotes:

 “the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions in the Capital had fallen by 57 per cent, the number of reported slight injuries had fallen by 33 per cent, and the number of children killed or seriously injured had fallen by 73 per cent compared to the 1994-8 baseline.. Casualty reduction targets for cyclists and powered two-wheeler users, however, were not met.”

“In 2011, there were 223 fewer car occupants killed or seriously injured, but 171 more pedestrians and cyclists.”

 “In 2011, there were 571 cycling KSIs, but only 20 of these involved an HGV… The focus on cycling fatalities is leading to a focus on lorries and that could mean the Mayor ignores the expensive engineering solutions which are the key to dealing with the bulk of the KSIs”

 “this Action Plan proposes to establish a new target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in London by 40 per cent by 2020”

Key policy proposals:

*"Invest in London's roads to make them safer.. installation of 20mph zones and speed limits on borough roads where appropriate,

*Commit to and improve London's safety camera network

*Actively lobby for improvements in vehicle design and greater innovation to deliver better safety

 *Lobby Government for changes to national regulations to allow the trial of innovative new approaches .. make optimum use of new engineering and traffic management approaches to manage speeds

*Run an ongoing programme of communications campaigns .. ‘Don’t let your friendship die on the road’

*Conduct an ongoing research programme to enable the right policies to be developed..

*Focus areas will include the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and powered two-wheeler user

*Ensure good quality, detailed data is provided to the public and stakeholders on a regular basis

*Actively promote understanding of developments and knowledge in road safety with partner organisations

*Work more closely with partner organisations such as the police, health sector, academia, NGOs, LAS, and insurance companies

*Learn more from others.. inviting international experts and leading practitioners to road safety seminars in London."


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