20mph zones: Kerbing speed will saves lives in London

20mph speed limits have come into effect on all TfL roads in central London

Getting the message across: A new TfL marketing campaign focusses on the changes that came into force on 2 March, highlighting the importance of lower speeds and encouraging road users to comply with the new 20mph speed limits. The campaign is live across radio, print and digital advertising.

Getting the message across: A new TfL marketing campaign focusses on the changes that came into force on 2 March, highlighting the importance of lower speeds and encouraging road users to comply with the new 20mph speed limits. The campaign is live across radio, print and digital advertising.

A blanket 20mph speed limit is being introduced on main roads across central London as part of a bid to reduce road traffic fatalities to zero. Transport for London (TfL) brought in the lower speed limits across its central area road network on 2 March in a move to reduce road danger across the capital. The new 20mph speed limits are being enforced across all TfL roads within the congestion charging zone – including Millbank, Victoria Embankment and Borough High Street – following strong public support for the proposals.

The 20mph speed limits are supported by new signage and road markings, with raised pedestrian crossings being installed in prominent locations where a high number of people walk, including near Embankment and Tower Hill Underground stations and outside the Tate Britain gallery. TfL will recalibrate all the speed cameras in central London and will work with the Metropolitan Police to ensure that drivers are complying with the new speed limits.

Each year more than 4,000 people are killed or seriously injured on London’s streets, taking a devastating toll on the people involved, their families and communities across the capital. In July 2018 the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, TfL and the Metropolitan Police launched a Vision Zero action plan to end the toll of deaths and serious injuries on London’s streets. The Vision Zero approach starts from the premise that no death or serious injury on London’s roads is acceptable or inevitable. To get closer to the Vision Zero ambition, a number of challenging interim targets have been set. By 2022, the aim is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 65%, with no-one being killed on or by a bus by 2030, and Vision Zero to be achieved in 2041.

Sadiq Khan says: “I am determined to eradicate all deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads, and these new measures are a vital step along the way to helping us to achieve this. By cutting speed limits on TfL’s roads within the congestion zone we are saving lives, while at the same time making our streets more appealing for Londoners to walk and cycle around the capital.”

Speed is a factor in around 37% of collisions in London where a person dies or is seriously injured. Figures from 2016, 2017 and 2018 show 131 people were killed in speed-related collisions on London’s streets. A further 2,256 people were reported as seriously injured in collisions where speed was recorded as a contributory factor. TfL believes cutting speeds from 30mph to 20mph will significantly reduce the likelihood and severity of these collisions, saving lives. People walking and cycling are particularly vulnerable to speeding vehicles and nine pedestrians have already died on London’s roads this year, says Lilli Matson, chief health, safety and environment officer at TfL. “Millions of walking and cycling journeys are made across our city every single day and a person is five times less likely to be fatally injured if hit at 20mph than at 30mph – it’s as straightforward as that,” she says.

High profile policing
As part of the joint commitment with TfL to eliminate death and serious injury from London’s roads, the Metropolitan Police will continue to target dangerous, careless and illegal driving across London’s roads. From April, a new speed enforcement team will identify speeding drivers across the capital, including within the new 20mph speed limits. The team will be deployed to known high-risk locations for speeding and respond to stakeholder and community concerns about drivers speeding in their area, equipped with the newest laser video speed enforcement technology.

The dedicated Metropolitan Police speed enforcement team aligns with TfL’s wider plan to catch people who drive carelessly, dangerously and illegally, which aims to significantly increase levels of speed enforcement through the effective and coordinated roadside and safety camera enforcement activity.

Andy Cox, Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent, says: “Speed limits are designed to keep road users safe. They are limits, not targets, and the law should be adhered to. Excessive speed unfortunately remains a common cause of serious and fatal collisions across London and the consequences can be devastating for those involved and their families. Safe speeds are key to achieving the Vision Zero ambition and it’s vital that those driving or riding on our roads respect the law on speed limits. We will actively target speeding and dangerous drivers and ensure they are dealt with robustly.”

The wider strategy
The changes mirror the lower speed limits already in place across many borough roads in central London. Over the next five years, TfL will work with boroughs and the public to introduce lower speed limits more widely across the capital. TfL aims to introduce safer speed limits across a further 140km of its road network, focussing on high-risk sections of road, town centres where people walk and cycle, and streets neighbouring ambitious local speed reduction programmes led by London boroughs.

A TfL consultation last year drew nearly 2,000 responses from the public, with half of respondents saying that a 20mph speed limit would have a positive impact on walking. Almost two-thirds thought that the proposals would lead to more people cycling and four in ten thought that the proposals would have a positive impact on public transport.

Monitoring and evaluation of the new 20mph speed limit will assess the success of the physical measures in lowering speeds. TfL will use this assessment to decide whether more traffic calming measures are needed in central London and where they should be introduced on other parts of the road network.

TfL is now working on proposals to bring safer speeds to some of the most high-risk areas in London. This includes lowering speed limits and introducing a number of new pedestrian crossings on Edgware Road, where local communities have called for improvements to make their neighbourhood a better and safer place to walk and cycle.

Positive reactions
The announcement has been welcomed by road safety, cycling and walking organisations. Victoria Lebrec, campaign coordinator for RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, said: “RoadPeace welcomes the speed limiting changing from 30mph to 20mph on TfL’s roads in central London. We see the devastation that speed causes every day, and the few seconds that are saved can lead to a lifetime of misery for a victim. Whilst TfL’s plans are encouraging, they represent a small percentage of the roads in London. We would like to see more boroughs adopting a 20mph default speed limit.”

Jeremy Leach, London campaign coordinator at 20’s Plenty, said: “Getting maximum speeds down to 20mph has a huge impact on making roads feel and be safe for all Londoners and 20’s Plenty is really pleased that reducing speeds is right at the heart of TfL’s plans for safe streets across London. This, though, is only the first part of a wider programme to tackle the dangers that speeding causes to us all.”

Sustrans England director Matt Winfield said: “We strongly support TfL’s move to reduce traffic speeds on London’s roads and look forward to 20mph limits being extended to all London boroughs. It’s unacceptable that every year thousands of people are hurt or killed in road traffic collisions. Lowering the traffic speed to 20mph can help make our streets feel safer and create places that are more attractive for people to walk, cycle and spend time. Studies have shown that slower roads lead to more people choosing to walk, wheel and cycle their everyday journeys so there is huge potential that, with lower traffic speeds and less car dominance, we will see a healthier, happier London for everyone.”