TfL posts decline in road deaths. Flags cycling as area for improvement

Transport for London has posted new figures relating to road safety in the capital, which it says ‘highlights a huge improvement over the last decade’.

For the first time since records began, the captial’s fatalities on the road has dipped below 150 in a year, with 126 posted in 2010. This is a 32 per cent reduction on 2009, suggesting the largest dips in the grim tally have come in recent years.

London Mayor Boris Johnson flagged up cyclists as particularly vulnerable despite the improving statistics. He said: "There is still much more to be done, especially around the safety of cyclists on our streets, and that is exactly why we continue to fund road safety schemes across the Capital."

According to the Department for Transport, London’s reputation as a hotspot for accidents is undeserved. Figures fall well below the national average of deaths per million people. London’s tally here is 24 per million, while the UK average is considerably higher at 38 per million.

Cycling was one of the few areas which did post an increase in ‘killed or seriosuly injured’ incidents, posting a nine per cent jump. Cycling in the city has, if TfL’s figures are correct, jumped 150 per cent since the turn of the millenium.

£14.8 million has been allocated to road safety improvements through 2011/12.