Towards a road safety action plan for London: 2020 : consultation document.

London has achieved substantial reductions in casualties and collisions over the last decade, including great success in reducing the numbers killed and seriously injured (KSI) and the numbers of reported slight injuries. Relative to the rest of Great Britain, London’s road safety record is a good one. The previous casualty reduction targets had an end date of 2010. By this date, 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 by 33 per cent, and the number of children killed or seriously injured fell by 73 per cent compared to the 1994-8 baseline. In addition, London has made strides in reducing fatal collisions. However, this is not a reason for complacency and there are emerging challenges. These include the continuing disproportionate number of pedestrian powered two-wheeler and pedal cycle casualties. During 2011, pedal cycle killed and seriously injured casualties increased from 2010 by 22 per cent to 571 and pedestrian killed and seriously injured casualties increased by 7 per cent to 980. Slight casualties have also increased in recent years. This underlines the fact that if future improvements are to be achieved, a strengthened commitment will be needed from all stakeholders and resources will need to be deployed to maximum effect. We need to be innovative and prepared to try new interventions if the effectiveness of tried and tested ones is reduced. Resources may need to be reallocated on the basis of evidence and where improved delivery is needed. This consultation document is being issued to seek views on the proposed approach for road safety in London to 2020. The approach builds upon the firm foundations of proven interventions, forges new partnerships and, crucially, identifies the need to adopt new and innovative measures. It also recognises that we need to target risk by focusing on and tackling the specific road users and behaviours that are over-represented in the casualty data. (Author/publisher)