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20mph speed zones cut road injuries by 40%, study says

UK cities should have more 20mph speed zones, as they have cut road injuries by over 40% in London, a study claims.

In particular the number of children killed or seriously injured has been halved over the past 15 years, the British Medical Journal reported.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine study estimates 20mph zones have the potential to prevent up to 700 casualties in London alone.

At 20mph, it is estimated only one in 40 pedestrians is killed in a crash.

This compares with a one in five chance for someone hit at 30mph.

The researchers compared data on road collisions, injuries and deaths in London between 1986 and 2006, with speed limits on roads.

After adjusting for a general reduction in road injuries in recent years, they found that the introduction of 20mph zones were associated with a 41.9% drop in casualties.

The greatest reduction was seen in children under the age of 11 years and in the numbers of all ages killed or seriously injured.

Cyclist injuries fell by 17% once 20mph zones came in, and injuries in pedestrians have been cut by almost a third.

There was also no evidence of a higher rate of casualties in areas bordering the 20mph zones, as in areas adjacent to 20mph zones casualties fell by an average of 8%.

Expansion

Study leader Dr Chris Grundy, a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "This evidence supports the rationale for 20mph zones, not just in major cities in Britain, but also in similar metropolitan areas elsewhere.

"Indeed, even within London, there is a case for extending the currently limited provision of such zones to other high casualty roads."

He estimated that 20mph zones in London save 200 lives a year, but this could increase to 700 if plans to extend the zones were implemented.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said the study backed their own research showing that 20mph zones help to reduce accidents and casualties.

"Our road safety strategy consultation recommends that local authorities introduce, over time, 20mph zones or limits into streets around schools, and which are primarily residential in nature, to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

"This will save lives and make people feel more secure in walking and cycling on those streets."

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "This research confirms that one of the most effective ways of protecting vulnerable road users, especially children, is the introduction of 20mph zones.

"It lends weight to calls for an expansion of 20mph zones, which RoSPA strongly supports and which we hope will become a crucial part of the new road safety strategy for the next 10 years."

Why is the study leader a lecturer on Tropical medicine?????

Study leader Dr Chris Grundy, a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "This evidence supports the rationale for 20mph zones, not just in major cities in Britain, but also in similar metropolitan areas elsewhere.
"Indeed, even within London, there is a case for extending the currently limited provision of such zones to other high casualty roads."
He estimated that 20mph zones in London save 200 lives a year, but this could increase to 700 if plans to extend the zones were implemented.

Anyone know how many people died on London's roads last year from ALL causes?
You mission (should you choose to accept it) is to report back here with those fatal stats.

I am actually in favour of 20mph zones but not of using bogus statistics to promote them. The real statistics are compelling enough.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/ResearchSummaryNo2_20mphZones.pdf

The Transport and Health Group is a multi-disciplinary group of researchers interested in the links between transport and health. This includes: evaluations of the impact of large scale transport interventions on public health; research on the health outcomes of different transport modes; and research into the wider public health implications of transport systems. Our research addresses public transport, private motorised transport and active modes, such as walking and cycling, in the context of a broad definition of the public health, which includes physical, mental and social well being.

The Transport and Health Group has completed several high profile studies, for example, for the World Health Organisation we contributed to the World report on road traffic injury prevention, for the UK Department for Health we prepared the evidence base in Injury trends and social gradients for their accident prevention strategy, and for Transport for London we have conducted three studies into Deprivation and Road Safety in London; Road Safety of London's Black & Asian Minority Ethnic groups; and Evaluation of 20mph zones in London. The Group is also leading an international collaboration, funded by the Wellcome Trust, to provide evidence on the health effects of climate change mitigation prior to the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in Dec 2009. This research includes transport case studies for London and Hyderabad.

Also, consideration should
be given to devising legislation that supports the emerging design
principles of shared space, to enable priority to be given to
pedestrians and cyclists over motor vehicles.

The number of fatalities on the borough's streets has halved in the past year as the number of road accidents continues to fall.

Latest figures show there were three fatalities on H&F streets in 2008, including two motorbike riders and one pedestrian - compared to six in 2007.

A total of 91 people were seriously injured in accidents on the borough's roads in 2008 compared to 97 in 2007.

Road safety experts say the decreases have been achieved through the council's road education and publicity programmes, local safety schemes, 20mph zones, cycle and bus schemes and a range of highways improvements - like Puffin crossings.

Last year there were 405 fewer deaths than in the previous year. And road deaths have fallen by two-thirds since their peak in the mid 1960s. ........
Next year, our ten year strategy for road safety in Great Britain comes to an end. So we need to chart a course for the next decade and beyond. We need to design and implement the solutions that will cut the annual toll of deaths and serious injuries on our roads still further.
And that’s why we sought public views in the summer on how we should tackle road safety for the next ten years. And I’m, pleased to say there was a good reaction - we received more than 2000 responses before the consultation closed in July, showing the high level of public interest.
.......
Put simply our vision is to have the 'Safest roads in the world.' That means not accepting a situation where 7 people die on our roads each day, but challenging ourselves to do better - to improve our vehicles, our skills as road users and our road environment still further.
We don’t just want this country’s roads to be safer, we want roads across the world to be safer. I’ve already spoken of the chilling figure for annual global road deaths – 1.4 million. Well, the majority of these deaths, around 70 percent, occur in developing countries.

We don’t just want this country’s roads to be safer, we want roads across the world to be safer. I’ve already spoken of the chilling figure for annual global road deaths – 1.4 million. Well, the majority of these deaths, around 70 percent, occur in developing countries.

Anyone know how many people died on London's roads last year from ALL causes?
You mission (should you choose to accept it) is to report back here with those fatal stats.
Remember Dr.Grundy says they would be 200 worse were it not for 20 mph limits, and if there were MORE 20 mph limits, then MORE (700) extra would be saved.

And in case you ask, I do know the answer, but I don't want to be accused of twisting the statistics, or not being peer reviewed... please find out for yourself!

Unless he has been misreported, then perhaps the reason Dr Grundy is a fellow of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is that he provides them with snake venom, and talks with a forked tongue (parcelmouth)?

Often wonder how much a Jaywalking bill would cut pedestrian casualities - ped taken to hospital to be given bill for medical treatment caused by own stupidity - that might just lower casualty rates

We have to know the criteria for selection of these 20 zones. Could there be an element of RTTM?

The 20 mph zones studied have almost exclusively been implemented on unclassified roads that previously had a 30 mph limit and, prior to the introduction of the 20 mph zone, the number of accidents per km per year was, on average, more than twice that of other unclassified roads.

Excellent research.

On the back of the success of the 20mph zones let me be the first to call for 10mph zones. Extrapolating from the data above i estimate that this could potentially save more lives than are currently being lost.

Yes, I truely believe that 10mph zones could actually create life.