Operation Winchester tackles motorcycle and scooter fatalities in London

Transport for London (TfL) are taking the next step to reduce the number of accidents involving motorcycles and scooters.

Two recent phases of Operation Winchester, from September 2015 to November 2015, and again in January this year, saw enforcement activity stepped up after the number of motorcycle and scooter fatalities in London rose to 36 in 2015, from 27 the year before.

TfL’s ongoing marketing campaign is helping to tackle the main cause of collisions, which is “travelling too fast for the conditions”.

TfL and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Roads and Transport Policing Command, are increasing their joint activity, including employing more officers at key motorcycle hotspot junctions where collisions are most likely to occur. Enforcement activity was increased at hotspot locations at key times across London to help keep motorcyclists and scooter riders safe.

Officers stopped 5,389 riders, issued 742 Traffic Offence Reports, 1,335 verbal warnings, seized 96 motorcycles and made 10 arrests. The MPS Motorcycle Safety Team and wider Roads and Transport Policing Command clamped down on behaviour such as speeding, careless riding and red light running, all of which are classed as illegal or antisocial road user behaviour.

They will also be providing leaflets on BikeSafe-London rider skills days and offering road safety advice to all road users.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “We are stepping up our efforts to improve the safety of motorcyclists on our roads, and the measures we’ve outlined today have the potential to make a real difference. We need every single motorcyclist to feel safe on our streets and this work is key to that goal.”

In 2015, building on London’s first Motorcycle Safety Action Plan of 2014, TfL has published the first Urban Motorcycle Design Handbook, a tool for those who design, build and maintain London’s roads to provide a better insight of how road and traffic conditions affect the vulnerable group of road users.

There has also been confirmed funding for Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) accredited motorcycle training centres in every part of London, and a pilot in the London Borough of Croydon giving one-to-one training for commuters, aimed at those travelling at peak travel hours. If successful, the pilot will be introduced in other parts of London.

Karen Cole, Director of Safety and Training, Motorcycle Industry Association, said: “This is a well thought out integrated approach to tacking rider vulnerability and shows TfL recognises that responsible riders have an important role to play in London’s transport mix. As more people opt for motorcycles and scooters as an antidote to congestion, they must be supported in their transport choice through access to high quality training and sympathetic road design. Training is absolutely key to creating responsible and safe riders.”

 

 

 

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