Time for Vision Zero on UK streets

Two of Europe’s capitals, Oslo and Helsinki, have quietly managed something quite remarkable. Both cities achieved zero pedestrian road deaths - a milestone Helsinki reached for the first time since record-keeping began in 1960.

Norway, the badge of honour extended to not a single child road death across the entire country.

What are these Nordic cities getting right? Christoffer Solstad Steen from Trygg Trafikk, a Norwegian road safety organisation, put it in simple terms when he spoke to The Guardian earlier this month: “Politicians have chosen to make it more difficult to use a car.”

Measures include hefty toll increases and steep rises in parking charges. Thousands of car spaces have made way for cycle lanes. Outside schools, speed limits are capped at 30km/h.

According to Oslo’s vice mayor for environment and transport, Arild Hermstad: “When it actually starts happening and people see that it’s working, no one wants to reintroduce the cars”.

Helsinki, too, has been tightening speed limits for decades. 30km/h is standard in residential areas and the city centre, and narrower driving lanes, roundabouts, and speed bumps encourage motorists to stay within the law. Pedestrian and cycling spaces take precedence, with car lanes often constrained by design.

Vision Zero for the UK

The European road danger reduction landscape is a picture of disparities. Between 2015 and 2017, the UK recorded 10.9 urban road deaths per million inhabitants. Norway, at 5.3, boasted Europe’s lowest rate, while Finland sat at 16.9.

Central to the Nordic success story is Vision Zero, a radical framework of measures that shifts accountability from road users to policy makers and infrastructure planners. If a crash occurs, the onus is on authorities to prevent it happening again.

London aspires to Vision Zero, but 57 pedestrians were killed in road traffic collisions there in 2018, and 7,000 hit-and-runs are reported there every year. However, with new data showing bike journeys in the capital are up 26% since 2019 to a staggering 1.33m every day, there's never been a more important time to make good on that commitment.

We made a documentary about how road danger affects us all, however we travel, and how The Netherlands addressed the problem half a century ago. The 40-minute, crowdfunded film is narrated by the BBC’s John Simpson and features interviews with Chris Boardman, Dr Rachel Aldred, Dr Ian Walker, George Monbiot and the founders of the Stop de Kindermoord movement amongst others.

https://vimeo.com/361286029

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover  and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK's most ethical provider.

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