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news
London cyclist in traffic (picture copyright Simon MacMichael).PNGSadiq Khan pledges 'Vision Zero' for road casualties in London
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Begin has pledged a ‘Vision Zero’ approach to road traffic casualties in the British capital, with the aim of ensuring that by 2030, no-one will be killed in an incident involving a London bus, and that by 2041 deaths and serious injuries resulting from road traffic collisions in the city will have been totally eradicated.
The pledge, which brings London into line with a growing number of cities worldwide that are committed to reducing the casualty toll on their streets, was unveiled as part of the Mayor’s Draft Transport Strategy, published today and open for consultation until 2 October 2017.
It was outlined in a press release from the Mayor’s office, which said the approach would make London’s streets “safer for all,” adding:
"Minimising road danger is fundamental to the creation of streets where everyone feels safe walking, cycling and using public transport. This radical change to how London approaches road danger will aim for no one to be killed in or by a London bus by 2030, and for all deaths and serious injuries from road collisions to be eliminated from London’s streets by 2041."
It's a bold vision, and one that aims to build a sharp fall in the number of people killed or seriously injured while using London’s roads in the past decade.
Preliminary figures show that in the year to June 2016, road traffic incidents in London claimed the lives of 128 people and 2,119 people were killed or seriously injured, respectively down39 per cent and 42 per cent on the 2005-09 average.
Whether the Vision Zero target is achievable is another matter. By 2041, it’s possible that all motor vehicles will be autonomous, taking human error out of the equation, and will be sophisticated enough to avoid collisions with pedestrians and cyclists.
Preliminary figures show that in the year to June 2016, road traffic incidents in London claimed the lives of 128 people and 2,119 people were killed or seriously injured, respectively down39 per cent and 42 per cent on the 2005-09 average.
Roger Geffen, policy director at the charity Cycling UK, told road.cc: “It’s an admirable ambition, which looks as though it could be on track.
“With a widespread roll out of 20mph limits, protected cycling facilities, measures to remove unsafe lorries from London roads and goals to reduce private motor vehicles, Cycling UK believes it should be possible to achieve.
He added: “It will require however police co-operation to ensure that less traffic doesn’t result in faster traffic. This means capital will need more traffic officers to enforce the law on speed limits, close overtaking of cyclists and mobile phone use at the wheel.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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17 comments
2041...lol but you can't stop darwinism.
Surely he means:
Vision: zero
> Making promises for a time LONG after he's not mayor anymore
I expect no less from this absolute clown.
A more achievable target with much better results would be to phase out ICE vehicles in central London and increase cycle, walking, public transport in the next 3-5 years. Then reduce vehicle movements even further to make London a pedestrian/cycle biased city.
One death will always be too many, but this is a meaningless political target and the frankly ridiculous 2041 deadline underlines this. With up to 9,000,000 people living in London a road death toll of +/-130 is probably as close to zero as we'll ever get (unless we get total segregation). The 2000+ figure is a nationwide figure and still very low for a population of 60,000,000.
It's a worthy target, but let's see some action rather than just talking.
My mate got knocked off his bike tonight in london with minor bruising, so lucky
In the year 2030
If cyclists are still alive
If pedestrians can survive
They may find....
In the year 2041
London ain't gonna need no mayor
'Cos everything he thinks, does, and says
Will be done by a hologram of Zager and Evans.
To be fair, the document does say " road danger will be targeted at its source" which is different from traditional "road safety" documents.
My view is that the MTS is not perfect.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that we have here a major official consultation document specifying "road danger" - the phrase we in the Road Danger Reduction Forum came up with at our foundation in 1993 - and also mentioning "tackling it at source". The implication that this should involve concentrating on danger from motorised traffic comes with the phrase "improving the behaviour of all road users, especially drivers of motorised vehicles".
Of course this all has to be translated to practice.
Meanwhile don't forget to get your views in as this is a consultation document.
So the days of the taxi drivers are numbered...
I'll be nearly 50 by then and that's probably about my life expectancy commuting in a few more pollution days like today. Maybe he could do something about that... he could even consider actually doing it during his term as mayor.
He's just appending his name to a process that is already underway and is unstoppable, the rise of the self-driving vehicle. I guess he is hoping to steal some of the credit for an idea that has absolutely nothing to do with him.
My old bosses at the Driving Standards Agency, along with successive governments, have long been trumpeting the fall in road casualties when everyone knows it's the improvements in car design that account for the change rather than their silly tinkering with driving tests or road layout.
Give me bloody strength.
Couldn't agree more, that and improvements in medical treatment both at the roadside and in hospital. The improvements in cars are part of the problem, more protection equals more risk taking. Seatbelts saw an increase in rear passenger fatalities/injuries and pedestrian/cyclist KSIs when it was made compulsary for those in the front to put a seatbelt on.
Cycling serious injuries are up the last few years and by a significant % (dunno about London solely) but when you think there are circa 185,000 KSI and minor injuries still on UK roads plus countless millions of collisions we are massively away from where we should be.
the standard for driving a killing machine is frankly criminal, the DSA/governments are complicit in the death toll and aren't really that interested in addressing it IMHO and see the figures as acceptable collateral damage.
Are you making up statistics again?
Front seatbelts became compulsory in the UK in 1983.
There was a clear downward trend in cycling KSI's after this in both absolute and relative terms.
Absolute KSI's: https://goo.gl/images/szngZn Relative KSI's: https://goo.gl/images/pxuSCS
Vision Zero - that's worrying, they're blind enough already!
All downhill after 2020
Holy f*ck, 2041?! A target with a 24 year deadline?! While we're at it, Sadiq, I plan to be Emperor of the Universe by 2041 and predict that we'll all be eating those micro-pizzas that expand in the microwave like in Back to the Future.