People in London’s poorest neighbourhoods twice as likely to be killed in road collisions

New data shows people living in London’s most deprived areas are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured in road collisions.

Transport for London (TfL) has published a report on inequalities on the road network showing that deprivation, gender, age and mode of transport all have a significant impact on the risk of being killed or seriously injured in a collision.   

The report finds that the 30 per cent most deprived postcodes have more than double the number of casualties per kilometre compared with the least deprived 30 per cent.  

The same is also true for people living in London’s more deprived areas who are travelling in London as a whole.

The more deprived the area someone lives in, the higher the risk they will be injured or killed in a road traffic collision wherever they are travelling in London, with people from the 30 per cent most deprived home postcodes having nearly double the risk of people from the least deprived 30 percent.  

For all casualties, the 16-30 age group has the highest casualty risk across all modes and all deprivation levels, and for all age groups, the risk is higher amongst the most deprived population.

Men and boys were found to have a higher risk of death and serious injury in road collisions than women and girls.

Men living in the most deprived postcodes are nearly three times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in road collisions than women living in the same areas.

TfL said is working with London boroughs and the Met to tackle road danger and is working on major programmes to make London’s roads safer.

Last month, TfL launched plans to introduce 65km of new 20mph speed limits within the Greenwich, Kensington and Chelsea, Lewisham, Southwark, Wandsworth, Merton, Bromley and Lambeth.

TfL is now working to lower speeds on more than 140km of its roads by May 2024 in inner and outer London, after introducing 13.7km of new lower speed limit schemes in February 2022.

London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “Even one death on our roads caused by a collision is too many, but the fact that these collisions disproportionally affect people in deprived areas is simply unjust.”

Pictured top: Approach to Elephant & Castle roundabout (Picture: TFL)