London is now leading the way not just on reducing road danger, but also on ensuring justice and support for crash victims.

Last year, Sadiq Khan announced his ambition to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries from London’s roads by 2041. The news that 132 people had died on London’s roads in 2017, up 16 deaths from 2016, reinforced the need for action. And  a plan has now been launched.

TfL’s Vision Zero action plan includes 17 actions organised into five key pillars in WHO’s Global Road Safety Plan:

• Safe speeds
• Safe streets
• Safe vehicles
• Safe behaviours
• Post collision response

The immediate media attention yesterday focused on the commitment to adopt 20 mph on TfL’s road network.  And this was a great leap forward and much welcomed by RoadPeace. Speed is more than about crash causation. Speed reduction can reduce the incidence and severity of non-speed related crashes. It is also key to the perception of safety, especially by those walking and cycling, and thus will help deliver the Mayor’s Healthy Streets programme. TfL gets this and has rightfully made speed reduction a main plank.

But there was so much more. Over the next few blogs we will  highlight the how London’s Vision Zero Action Plan includes positive concrete actions  to ensure police reduce road danger and improve their investigation of collisions, as well as securing information and support for crash victims.  RoadPeace has long been lobbying on these issues, including over the past six months to get them included in London’s Vision Zero programme. Recent work has been through our London Traffic Justice project, which is supported by Trust for London,.

But for now, all we want to say is thank you to the Mayor, TfL and MPS. They have committed to doing more and going further to reduce road death and serious injury. And they have accepted a duty to care to all victims from any collisions that still occur.

Updated on: 25 July 2018