Only 1 in 8 Londoners will use a car today.
And the same 1 in 8 people will use one again tomorrow. And the next day…
Source: TfL London Travel Demand Survey 2019, Obtained under FOI Request
And 1 in 20 of these regular motorists either have already,
or will go on to someday, Kill or Seriously Injure a pedestrian or a cyclist.
If that seems high, it’s because there aren’t very many
regular drivers in London, and journeys within London are in much closer
proximity to pedestrians than in the rest of the country.
One quarter of black cab drivers in London will Kill or
Seriously Injure a pedestrian at some point in their careers.
For a breakdown of the statistics see Car Usage In London
And this level of risk is particularly acute for cyclists. 1
in 5 frequent cycle commuters will be Kill or Seriously Injured.
Drivers pose a higher risk of death to a teenager cycling to
school than all other risks – drugs, knife crime, suicide and cancer added
together.
A car hitting a pedestrian at 10mph looks like this.
https://simulatedpedestraincollisions.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/10+mph.mp4
At 15 like this.
https://simulatedpedestraincollisions.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/15+mph.mp4
At 20 like this.
https://simulatedpedestraincollisions.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/20+mph.mp4
At 25 like this.
https://simulatedpedestraincollisions.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/25+mph.mp4
And at 30 like this.
https://simulatedpedestraincollisions.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/30+mph.mp4
Here’s the data from a large scale research project in Sweden. Note that at 15mph (25km/h) there is almost zero deaths, and very few serious injuries.
Reducing the speed limit would lead to roughly a 90% reduction in pedestrian casualties – here’s the evidence for that. http://www.futuretransport.info/impact-of-speed-on-pedestrian-deaths-and-injuries/
Impact of 15mph speed limit on average traffic speed
But if we all did 15mph instead of 30mph the traffic would be even slower, right? Actually only very slightly. We’d just spend less time at the next set of traffic lights. Watch the vid. The cars doing 15 mph max catch up at the lights. A 15mph speed limit would mean a 3 mile journey through London traffic on a road that’s currently a 30mph limit would take 30 minutes rather than 26 minutes. That’s an extra 4 minutes on your typical commute.
See Impact of reduced maximum speed on journey times. http://www.futuretransport.info/impact-of-maximum-speed-on-journey-times/
At 15mph limit rather than 30mph:
- CO2, NOx, Particulates and tyre wear are reduced by 70%
- Pedestrian deaths and serious injuries are reduced by 90%.
- Noise levels are halved.
- A cyclist can ride safely at traffic speed without being
closed passed or left hooked.
20mph zones have started to have a dramatic effect on accident rates in London and compliance with the limits is improving.
As the size of 20mph zones grow, many more lives will be saved. What if it was a 15mph limit?