London buses more dangerous to cyclists than HGVs

This is written question from London Assembly Member Darren Johnson to the London Mayor Boris Johnson with the Mayor’s reply below.

I am pretty shocked by this, as London buses have direct vision cabs, which I had always considered much safer than traditional ‘high-cab’ lorries, as they do not have the same problems with seeing cyclists (or pedestrians) to their left front, and so had assumed that the bus / cyclist KSI numbers must be much better.  How wrong I was to make this assumption.  If these numbers are right, then there is something very, very wrong on London’s roads, especially given that we have always been presented the bus lane as the next best thing to a ‘proper’ segregated bike lane.

Tom Kearney has been making a fuss about what he considers negligent behaviour by London bus companies for some considerable time now.  I guess I should have been paying more attention.

Cyclists and buses

Question No: 2013/4666

Darren Johnson

Are you aware that since you became Mayor there are some years when the number of cyclists killed or suffering major injury per bus km travelled is greater than the number of killed or seriously injured per HGV km travelled? Given your direct control over how London buses perform, will you include reducing casualties as part of the bus contracts?

Written response from the Mayor

I am strongly committed to ensuring the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable roads users when sharing the road with London’s buses. I recently published my Road Safety Action Plan: Safe Streets for London. This sets an ambitious target of a 40 per cent reduction in killed and seriously injured (KSI) casualties by 2020. This covers all road traffic KSI casualties, including those involving buses and coaches.

 

TfL has an on-going programme of measures to reduce the number of collisions involving buses. This includes training and advice for bus drivers and cyclists, improvements to junction design and infrastructure, route risk assessments and a comprehensive incident reporting system.

 

London’s bus drivers are trained to consider the safety of cyclists through the bus driver BTEC module on cyclists and other vulnerable road users.  TfL and bus operators work together to increase drivers’ awareness of cyclists, how they use the road and their vulnerability, through such initiatives as the Big Red Book, the ‘Big Bus Little Bike’ DVD and Exchanging Places events at bus garages.

 

Bus route risk assessments are undertaken on every bus route and cycle initiatives, including new cycle infrastructure, are explained to bus operators to make sure they understand how to use them safely. Bi-annual audits are conducted to ensure the risk assessment process is thorough and relevant and all serious bus collision incidents are reviewed collaboratively with the MPS Collision Investigation Unit.

 

Furthermore, TfL will continue to examine collision statistics and police collision investigation reports to ensure measures are deployed where they can most effectively improve safety.