Road users are more likely to be hurt in an accident in Southwark than in almost any other borough in London, according to a new study.
Some 3,136 people were injured in road traffic collisions in Southwark between 2018 and 2020, data from the government’s department for transport shows. That accounts for 4.4 per cent of all injuries from collisions in the borough for the period. Only Westminster, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets had more, while Wandsworth rounded off the top five.
Overall, London was the worst region in the country for injuries from road traffic collision, according to the data, which was analysed by law firm Slater and Gordon – although the capital had the lowest proportion of serious or fatal collisions.
Matt Jarvis, chief commercial and insurance services officer at Slater and Gordon, said: “The data regarding road accidents and collisions is concerning to see. Collectively, drivers have a responsibility to ensure they are using the road in the safest way possible…
“Of course, this data dates from before the Covid 19 pandemic and we know that the number of road traffic accidents did decrease significantly during periods of lockdown. However, we haven’t yet seen the full impact of post-Covid changes in road usage behaviour, nor the impact of recent changes to road policy or innovation in car manufacturing. It will be incredibly interesting to see the impact on our roads in 2021 and beyond and what measures road users, car manufacturers, and the government take to safeguard all road users.”
Transport for London (TfL) has said it wants to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041, in part by cutting speed limits to 20mph on the roads it operates. Road deaths in the capital went down by 21 per cent in 2020, although this was probably largely down to fewer people using the roads in lockdowns. Many of the roads in London are operated by borough councils like Southwark, which has its own initiatives to improve road safety.