‘Vision Zero’ plan aims to eliminate all deaths and injuries on London’s roads

The Mayor of London, TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have published London’s first ‘Vision Zero’ action plan, which sets out ambitious plans to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network.

Each year more than 2,000 people are killed or seriously injured on London’s streets. Working with the Met Police and London boroughs, TfL’s radical ‘Vision Zero’ approach works on the fact that no death or serious injury is acceptable.

It is a bold approach that includes the introduction of lower speed limits, the transformation of dangerous junctions, tough safety standards for the design of HGVs and a comprehensive bus safety programme, which incorporates speed-limiting technology and a new training course for all drivers.

To begin with, the Mayor has set TfL a number of interim targets. For example, by 2022, the aim is to have reduced the number of people killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 65 per cent.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “I don’t accept that deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads are something we have to put up with. Our bold and far-reaching plans are some of most ambitious in the world. At the heart of our plans is reducing the dangers of speeding vehicles across London. The design of vehicles is also crucial. That’s why we’re using the latest safety technologies to transform London’s buses and bringing in a world-leading safety standard for lorries, alongside investing in building new infrastructure to make walking and cycling a safe option.”

To help reduce danger on the roads, TfL is proposing to make 20mph the new speed limit on all TfL roads within the Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ) by 2020. Many London boroughs currently have 20mph speed limits on their local residential streets and the Mayor and TfL will continue to work with boroughs to deliver uniform speed limits.

The police are responding to Vision Zero with a new approach, intensifying police focus onto the most dangerous drivers and amplifying the deterrent effect through widespread high visibility roadside operations and patrols.

At the same time TfL is committed to the next round of major work to make the most dangerous junctions in London safer.

A Bus Safety Standard is also being developed for London’s buses that will identify the latest safety technologies and features to significantly reduce casualties on the bus network. This could include improved vision for drivers and autonomous emergency braking, as well as redesigned buses both inside and outside.

Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing Command, said: “The Met is working hard to reduce collisions and the number of people killed or seriously injured on London’s roads. We will contribute towards Vision Zero by intensifying our focus on the most dangerous drivers through the enforcement of road traffic legislation.”

Progress has already been made in London in recent years. Improvements on the network, including building segregated cycle lanes and improving dangerous junctions, have led to a 45 per cent reduction in the number of deaths on London’s roads over the past eight years.

Also recently unveiled for London is the Walking Action Plan.