Ken sets out plan for 20mph limit to save lives on London’s roads
- Boris Johnson votes ‘disagree' on 20mph zones
Ken Livingstone put his policies for road safety at the heart of the election debate today, saying he wanted 20mph limits in all residential roads in London. He was speaking at the annual conference of Roadpeace, the national charity for road crash victims.
Policies introduced by Ken Livingstone over the last eight years have led to a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on London 's roads, but still over 100 pedestrians are killed in road collisions each year, and a further 1,200 are seriously injured. Sadly, a large number of victims are children.
The issue has become clearer with the publication of the ‘Vote Match' answers, with Ken Livingstone's main opponent Boris Johnson voting ‘disagree' to the statement ‘All residential streets should have 20 mph speed limits.' www.votematch.co.uk
Ken Livingstone said:
‘There are few more important issues for our local neighbourhoods than having safer streets, which is why I want to see 20mph become the standard speed limit on all of London's residential streets. If I am re-elected I will work with London 's boroughs to achieve this.
'Most Londoners are unaware of the hidden toll of children and adults killed or seriously injured on London's roads each year.
‘By making road safety measures such as more pedestrian crossings and longer green man phases a much higher priority over five hundred fewer children are killed or seriously injured on London's roads each year than when I was first elected in 2000.
'But we have to continue to move forwards to reduce road deaths. The fundamental cause of road deaths is the speed of traffic. Nine out of ten pedestrians will be killed if hit by a car travelling at 40mph, but only one in forty will die if hit at 20mph.'
Over the last five years Ken has increased financial support for 20mph zones from £3m per year to £10m per year and there are now 400 20mph zones across London. On average, casualties including the number of children killed and seriously injured fell by nearly 60 per cent after a 20mph zone was implemented.
20mph zones have been a success where they have been implemented, but currently councils implement zones one by one, which can be costly and relatively slow. Many more residential areas could benefit from safer roads and so Ken's new policy, set out in his transport manifesto, is to encourage councils to designate their whole borough as a 20mph zone, and then exempt non-residential roads that need to have faster traffic.
This would be a more cost-effective and comprehensive method of enforcing safe speed limits.
Amy Aeron-Thomas, Executive Director, RoadPeace, the road safety campaign group said:
"There are many people alive in London today thanks to Ken Livingstone's dedication to reducing danger on our roads.
"Although greatly reduced, road deaths still outnumber homicides, and more can and should be done. RoadPeace sees the introduction of a 20 mile per hour default speed limit key to not only reducing road deaths and injuries, but also to tackling climate change and obesity. Thus a 20mph default speed limit, pledged by the Mayor, offers a win-win-win solution."
Previously Boris Johnson has caused concern with his anti-pedestrian policies.
His manifesto sets out how he will "re-phase the traffic lights with the sole intention of getting traffic flowing more smoothly";
Johnson, a part-time car magazine journalist, told listeners to the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 that "I would say as a cyclist that I think pedestrians are the most dangerous feature on the roads at the moment".
However, he has now gone further with his vote on the ‘Vote Match' website saying he opposes 20mph for all residential streets.
Ken Livingstone said:
"There is now the clearest possible difference, with Boris Johnson opposing 20mph for all of London's residential streets.
"What Boris Johnson doesn't seem to understand is that when traffic lights are on red for cars and lorries, they are green for pedestrians. Saving lives is more important than fast cars. We will continue with a sensible policy of traffic management that keeps traffic flowing and allows pedestrians to walk safely."
Notes to editors
Under Ken Livingstone, Transport for London funding for road safety has increased by over 65 per cent from £35m in 2004/5 to £58m in 2007/08. Funding for the 20mph policy would come out of this budget.
The number of 20mph zones in London boroughs range from none (Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster) to over thirty (Tower Hamlets, Kingston-upon-Thames).
Transport for London estimates that if 70% of the borough road network were made 20mph zones, the number of people killed and seriously injured could be expected to fall by 1,000 from over 2,700 to 1,600.
Over a 5 year period TfL estimates that speed cameras have saved over 1500 serious and fatal injuries. Research undertaken by the Department for Transport showed that 42% fewer people were killed or seriously injured at camera sited and there was also a reduction of over 100 fatalities per annum (32% down).
Part of the success in casualty reduction in London can be attributed to award-winning publicity campaigns such as ‘Don't Die Before You've Lived' aimed at teenagers, and the introduction of the Children's Traffic Club for three-year-olds
The policy make 20mph the standard speed limit on residential roads was agreed as part of the Ken Livingstone's annual budget agreement with the Green Party.