Alderman Allison Gowan chaired a full table in the west wing meeting rooms of Guildhall for the London Road safety Council meeting. IOC chair Carl Lomas and IOC road safety group chair Chris Floyd from Evri were in attendance.
Vehicle silence by EVs was discussed and the safety of no-sound cars. Keynote briefing by Alex from Met Police transport team. Alex gave an extensive briefing on a variety of the streams of road safety actions, particular focus on speed and safety. Rebecca Guy from RoSPA updated on their RoSPA GIG economy rider reviews. 20mph and traffic speeds discussed, some comment on idling vehicles and air pollution. The London group is rich in support from London boroughs and road safety officers.
Road Safety Chair Chris Floyd –
Our industry is focused on the movement and delivery of goods; Coming to the London Road Safety Council today has really highlighted the point that it is the movement of vehicles and delivery of safe spaces that remains the ask of us from local authorities and local residents. In alignment with our commitment to environmental concerns, we should always maintain that a good delivery has to be arrived at, safely. That safety applies to our use of any road, at any time.
Alexis Manley, Met Police traffic briefing.
Vision Zero action plan to 2041 working with TfL, a three-tiered approach, high visibility at the base, tactical activity and highly target activity at the top. Fatal collision data for London has been falling in last ten years. 2023 number is projected under 100 for London.
Detailed on Cycle Safety Team & Motorcycle Safety Team, motorcycle team focused on Bike Safe and experimenting with drone coverage.
Community Road Watch based on volunteers helping to identify speeding vehicles with a speed gun in boroughs, in 2023 14,423 warning letters to drivers sent. More volunteers are needed. One hour slots.
Junior Road Watch is looking at speeding drivers near primary schools. Re-launched across London March 2023. 4158 school children participated. 1045 drivers stopped. Councils chasing for engagement.
Operation Tutelage (Plus) is about record-tracking for no-insurance, many of the cases turn out to be failure of data entry. Connected & Autonomous vehicles group is focused on driving aids.
Alexis explained, Laser Cam, it is like a mobile Gatso, a mobile camera that goes anywhere, seven cameras in total, running since Feb 2022, total speed offence detections so far are 79,528 with Notice of prosecutions at 66,820.
The group went on to discuss anti social driving including night riding of motorcycles in the parks. Cycles on the pavements was raised as a borough issue. The extension of more cycle lanes was promoted as a growth solution. Cycle use on pavement was discussed, a safe space, but not a legal shared space, enforcement difficult.
What action should we take to report dangerous driving? Answered, there is an online report system on the London Met web.
Rebecca Guy from RoSPA
We are bidding with DfT for project funding, we have run a symposium on GIG economy riders.
Date of next meeting July.
London Road Safety Council group at Guildhall
