FIRST INTERACTIVE COLLISION MAP LAUNCHED BY Tfl
The mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL)have launched the capital’s first interactive digital collision map, which is part of a continued drive to improve road safety awareness to reduce the number of casualties in the capital.
The London Collision Map – which can be viewed at www.collisionmap.london – uses extensive data, collected by the Police and held by TfL, to shine a light on road collisions in local areas.
“This creates a useful new way to inform road users about junctions with high collision histories and aiding improvement work in line with TfL’s commitment to improve transparency for customers and stakeholders” say TfL.
“The map allows anyone to easily search for collisions anywhere within London, providing information about when, where and how severe incidents were, which date back to 2005. The aim is to help raise awareness of road conditions and encourage road users to take extra care at junctions.”
TfL’s move comes as the Institute of Advanced Motorists call for a raft of measures to reverse the “disappointing” increase in numbers of people killed and injured on UK roads as announced today by the government.
The Department of Transport’s Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2014 Annual Report says there were 1,775 reported road deaths in 2014, an increase of 4% compared with 2013.
It added the number of people seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents increased by five per cent to 22,807 in 2014.
A total of 194,477 people were killed or injured in reported road accidents in 2014, the first increase in overall casualties since 1997.
And the most common factor which contributed to accidents in 2014 was drivers failing to look properly.
IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “These figures are very worrying, especially the fact that driver behaviour remains the top cause of crashes.
“We are clear on what needs to be done here. “We call again for road safety targets to be reintroduced – they are an internationally recognised way of ensuring reductions are measured and achieved.
“There also needs to be a focus on tackling pedestrian deaths, an area which is often ignored. “We believe that car technology and design should now shift from occupant protection to protecting the vulnerable outside cars.”
Neil suggested manufacturers should pursue developments like pop-up bonnets, pedestrian airbags and detector systems.
“We also need better pedestrian facilities to segregate traffic and vulnerable users where speeds are high, and campaigns to educate pedestrians themselves as they are most often at fault in crashes.” (Sources: TfL / IAM press releases.)
