The Mayor, TfL, and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) launched a bold Vision Zero Action Plan in July 2018. This plan committed to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on London’s streets. ✋
Working with the MPS and London boroughs, TfL’s Vision Zero approach clearly says that no death or serious injury on London’s roads is acceptable or inevitable. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy sets out the goal that by 2041 all deaths and serious injuries will be eliminated from London’s transport network.
Why reducing road danger is important
75 people died on our roads in 2021 and 3,500 were seriously injured, despite the progress we have made in recent years.😢
Road collisions, while nearly always unintended, are the result of choices made by individuals, organisations and society. All too often collisions result in deaths and serious injuries which have devastating effects on families and change lives forever.
Fear of road danger discourages walking and cycling, so a shift away from private vehicles will significantly help to reduce Londoners’ exposure to road danger. It will also help to get the city closer to its Vision Zero goal, as well as reduce congestion, carbon emissions and improve London’s air quality. Every bus, tube and train journey will also start and end with a walk or cycle along the street. So creating safer and more attractive areas for people to live, work and play will also encourage more people out of their cars and enjoy the health benefits of active travel. 🚴
What we’ve done to achieve Vision Zero so far
London has made huge strides in reducing road death since committing to Vision Zero with deaths and serious injuries falling faster than the national average. 👏
By 2019, the number of people being killed or seriously injured reduced by 39% . In 2020, under pandemic road conditions, this reduction reached 52%.
We have also introduced:
- Safer Junctions scheme – Our Safer Junctions programme is making life-saving changes to 73 junctions across the capital. Work has already been completed at 30 of them, leading to a 26% reduction in collisions so far.
- Junior Roadwatch – A road safety scheme which sees speeding drivers questioned by schoolchildren alongside police.
- Direct Vision Standard – TfL is working to remove the most dangerous lorries from London’s roads with a new Safety Permit. Direct Vision has been incorporated into the European Commission’s General Safety Review, meaning it will be required across Europe.
- Bus Safety Standard – Buses with new safety requirements, such a safe speed-limiting technology and improved mirrors and cameras, will soon be entering London’s fleet as part of TfL’s Bus Safety Standard.
- Cycling infrastructure – The Mayor’s cycling plan has doubled the amount of protected cycling infrastructure built in the capital since 2016, with 116 kilometres of protected cycle lanes now complete or under construction in London.
- 20mph – We are planning to lower speeds on 8.9km of TfL roads in central London by 2020.
However, despite these decreases, continued action is needed to achieve our Vision Zero goal. Which is why we’re redoubling our efforts and committing to further measures together with MPS and London’s boroughs.
How we will achieve Vision Zero
TfL, London Councils and the MPS published the Vision Zero action plan progress report in November 2021. This committed to new tougher measures to help us reach our targets. These included:
⚠️ Accelerating the roll-out of the 20mph speed limit programme
🚔 A significant increase in the speed enforcement undertaken by the MPS
🏍 Measures to improve safety for people riding motorcycles
📱 Responding to new trends in road danger, including increased use of smartphones
Find out more information on collisions on London’s roads on our road safety reduction dashboard.
Behind every statistic is a story
To help communicate the impact road trauma has on people’s lives, we spoke to Nilima and Tesse whose lives have been impacted by collisions on London’s roads.
If you or anyone you know has been impacted by a serious road collision, support is available with Brake and Roadpeace.
What do you think is an acceptable number of road deaths and serious injuries? Our vision is zero.
Most of the cycle lanes are not protected. The blue lanes mostly have a broken white line alongside so they aren’t mandatory. Cyclists think they are safe and have sole use of those lanes. They don’t and are not safe. I know of someone who was killed in one of those lanes.