The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) has today to dramatically reduce road traffic casualties in London. The plan aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on London's roads by 40 per cent by 2020 with the ultimate aim of roads that are free from death and serious injury.

Above: Mayor of London Boris Johnson pictured earlier in 2013 with British Cycling's Chris Boardman

Many of the policies in the report are contained in British Cycling’s Road Safety Manifesto including improvements to dangerous junctions, 20mph limits on urban roads, safety improvements to HGVs and increases to road traffic policing. The publication shows what can be achieved when cycling is given strong political leadership backed by a clear vision.

"Measures like 20mph zones and looking at restrictions on HGV movements are very welcome and echo what British Cycling is calling for in its road safety manifesto."

British Cycling Policy and Legal Affairs Director Martin Gibbs

The plan has a striking resemblance to Sweden’s ‘Vision Zero’ approach to road safety which has led to large reductions in road traffic incidents while at the same time increasing levels of cycling. The principles behind this approach is that no one should be killed when travelling on the road, that mistakes will take place and when they do occur well designed roads should ensure they don’t result in a serious collision.

Transport for London’s plan includes:

• £100m for redesigning London’s junctions
• Funding for 20mph limits and zones on Borough roads and strategic routes
• Improvements to HGV safety by working with contractors to improve driver training and vehicle design and pushing Health and Safety Executive to ensure contractors take ownership of road collisions and investigate how Paris and Dublin restrict the most dangerous vehicles during peak times
• Updated cycle design standards to bring them in line with international best practice
• Cycle training made available to every school and through London boroughs
• Road fatality data to made public and used to inform design improvements
• Implementing all the recommendations of the upcoming Cycle Safety Action Plan

Martin Gibbs, Director of Legal and Policy Affairs, said:

“These proposals further demonstrate how committed the Mayor of London and Transport for London are to making the capital a true cycling city. Measures like 20mph zones and looking at restrictions on HGV movements are very welcome and echo what British Cycling is calling for in its road safety manifesto. We’d now like to see more towns and cities across the UK getting behind cycling as a priority form of transport.”

The plan will run in conjunctions with the Mayor’s ‘Vision for Cycling in London’ which aims for a 400% increase in levels of cycling by the year 2026.

British Cycling is a member of the Cycle Safety Working Group which has been crucial in recommending and developing many of these policies. The Group, made up of cycling representatives, London Boroughs and the Police advises TfL on cycle safety issues.

It is good to see that TfL has committed to investigating how Paris and Dublin restrict the use of the most dangerous vehicles from the city centre during some peak hours. Following the death of Dr Katherine Giles on Victoria Street earlier this year the Mayor’s office and Stephen Hammond MP, Transport Minister said that they would begin to look at options to prevent future tragedies occurring.