Mayor of London's target to reduce pedestrian casualty numbers by 40% by 2020 is not ambitious enough, the London Assembly Transport Committee has said.

Its report ‘Feet First – Improving Pedestrian Safety in London’ recommends the introduction of a no tolerance approach, which aims to eliminate pedestrian casualties. The Committee has also voiced concerns that there is a tacit acceptance of a 'tolerable' level of casualties, adding that a new strategy is needed with a core belief that fatalities are not inevitable.

London Assembly Transport Committee chair Valerie Shawcross said: “It is not right that pedestrian deaths and injuries are treated as acceptable. If an average of three people per day were killed or seriously injured on the buses, there would be an uproar."

Figures show that more pedestrians are killed or seriously injured on London’s streets than any other road user group. Sixty nine pedestrians were killed and 1054 seriously injured during 2012. The Transport Committee’s report makes eight recommendations to help address this.

Ms Shawcross says in her foreword to the report that the same political focus which has driven forward the Mayor’s cycling vision should be given to ensuring pedestrian safety.

The report emphasises there is a growing concern about the number of buses involved in collisions with pedestrians. The day before the report was published Transport for London announced that trials of optical and radar based detection systems will begin on buses this summer to help bus drivers stay aware of pedestrians and cyclists.

Also this week a report by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety said central Government and local authorities need to step up their road safety measures if policies for increasing walking and cycling are to succeed without casualty numbers increasing.

(Photo: Matt Cornock)

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