Latest news with #roadCasualties
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
London's low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third'
Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) cut road injuries and deaths by more than a third within their boundaries with no apparent negative safety effect on nearby roads, a study has shown in a boost to proponents of the measure. Based on comparisons involving more than a decade of road casualty statistics between 113 LTNs created across London and other roads that did not have them, the report's authors found that LTNs were associated with a 35% reduction in all injuries, rising to 37% for deaths and serious injuries. In absolute terms, the study concluded, this meant that creating the LTNs prevented more than 600 road injuries that would have otherwise taken place, including 100 involving death or serious injury. On boundary roads, those just outside the LTNs, there was no observable change in the overall number of casualties. LTNs aim to make smaller residential streets more friendly for walking, wheeling and cycling by using filters to stop through-traffic by motor vehicles. While they have been used in various forms in the UK for decades and are ubiquitous in many European cities, an expansion in their use from 2020 led to pushback from some politicians and parts of the media. A common criticism has been that LTNs simply displace traffic to boundary roads, which thus become more dangerous. Earlier studies have, however, found a negligible impact on traffic levels and the new paper, published in Injury Prevention, a spin-off from the British Medical Journal, indicates this is the same for deaths and injuries. Of the 113 LTNs studied, 27 were subsequently taken out. According to analysis by the authors, from Westminster University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, if the LTNs had not been removed there would have been 116 fewer injuries overall, 16 of which involved death or serious injuries. Across the LTNs as a whole, the authors said, an estimated 613 injuries were prevented, including 100 deaths or serious injuries. The study involved analysing road casualties from 2012 to 2024 on all so-all road links – a sections of road between two junctions – in London, some of which became part of or a boundary to an LTN, while others did not, and were treated as a control group. This allowed the authors to observe changes within LTNs and also compare them with changes on other road links, to take account of other, longer-term changes in injury rates, including lower traffic levels during Covid. One phenomenon that was apparent between schemes was that the safety benefits of being within an LTN in outer London seemed notably less than those in inner London. Some outer London schemes have been shown as less successful in reducing overall traffic. Even with such caveats, the results across a relatively large-scale study give supporters of LTNs the ability to argue that they provably prevent injuries and deaths, as has also been shown to be the case for 20mph speed limits in Wales. Although modal filters, the technical name for LTNs, have been repeatedly shown to be effective when implemented properly, negative media coverage of the wave of schemes introduced from 2020 prompted a political backlash, with Rishi Sunak's government pledging to clamp down on LTNs. Sunak's government even commissioned a report on LTNs in the apparent hope it would conclude they did not work. When the report found instead they were mainly popular and effective, it was initially buried. Dr Jamie Furlow from Westminster University's Active Travel Academy, who led the new study, said its findings should reassure policymakers over the schemes. He said: 'LTNs have led to considerable reductions in road traffic injuries inside their boundaries for all road users – from pedestrians and cyclists to drivers. At the same time, concerns about nearby main roads becoming more dangerous aren't supported by the evidence.'
Auto Express
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Conversation killer: half of drivers admit small talk is becoming a big distraction
Almost half of drivers admit that holding a conversation behind the wheel has caused them to make a mistake, with internal distractions such as this having contributed towards as many as 940 road casualties in 2023. In a survey conducted by the RAC, 63 per cent of drivers said that internal and external distractions have caused them to make an error whilst driving, with just under half (43 per cent) stating that even chatting to a passenger has led to a mistake. Advertisement - Article continues below It's no surprise, then, that in-car distractions are listed as a contributory factor in five per cent of collisions. They also led to 940 road casualties (six per cent of the total) in 2023, including 81 deaths. With this in mind, you might be shocked to hear that only 18 per cent of drivers see holding a conversation as a potential distraction behind the wheel. While 48 per cent of respondents pointed to mobile phone usage as a potential distraction, this is only cited as an influential element for two per cent of cases and casualties. Nevertheless, all distractions, whether they be talking to a passenger or over the phone, can be incredibly dangerous. The RAC's safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis, was keen to remind drivers that while 'the practice of driving is second nature for many of us, our research suggests things we do without thinking in the car have far more potential to cause us to make errors than we might realise. 'Driving is still a very mentally demanding task,' he said, 'especially because we need to be able to react to what's in front in a split-second, so it's important we do everything we can to stay alert and minimise distractions.' All of this follows Auto Express's recent investigation into the potentially distracting nature of in-car touchscreens. While only around a third (30 per cent) of the RAC's respondents think adjusting a car's controls could be an issue, this is something that safety experts Euro NCAP believe is a prevalent issue. Beginning next year, NCAP tests will begin to award extra points to manufacturers that provide physical controls for frequently used functions, with touchscreen-focused cockpits likely to suffer lower safety scores. Come and join our WhatsApp channel for the latest car news and reviews...
