26 Jan 2024
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Key points
- Last week, the cruel crime of hit and run in London was addressed in a new report from Caroline Russell, Green Party London Assembly Member. The report looks at the period (2013-2021) and makes clear that this is a long-term problem.
- This week, the devastation caused by dangerous, hit and run drivers has been highlighted in the tragic case of Gao Gao, a young mother, killed in September 2023.
- And AVZ has highlighted how the toll from hit and run had worsened in 2022 in London with 16 deaths (up 33% from 12 in 2021), and 822 Killed/seriously injured (759 in 2021).
- The new report shows the problem is aggravated by lack of transparency with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) reluctant or incapable of sharing data on hit and run crashes.
- Report recommendations include a hit and run action plan and reduction target, as well as commitment to improve the quality and timeliness to respond to the questions and data requested.
- Hit and run is not unique to London. Other areas can learn from this report with what needs to be done at the local level. For national reform, see AVZ and RoadPeace West Midland’s Remain and Report campaign.
Hit and run harm
The harm caused by hit and run drivers in London is being highlighted by Green Party Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, who is also the Chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, who published a new report last Thursday on Hit and Run: The escalating crisis on London Roads.
This problem has been regularly raised by Caroline Russell, and before her Sian Berry (currently on the Transport Committee) and before her Jenny Jones, including during her time as Deputy Mayor and London’s Road Safety Ambassador. This is not a new issue but nor is there any progress to report.
In 2021, 21 people a day were reported injured in hit and run crashes in the capital. This new report highlights how this toll is nearly two and a half times greater than in 2009.
Lack of transparency
As is made clear in the new report, in addition to the criminal conduct involved, there is also a problem with transparency and data sharing. Data quality and timeliness have worsened with greater inconsistency over time.
Accountability depends on transparency. And public confidence depends on justice being seen to be done. Both require better transparency with hit and run crashes and their outcomes.
The action that is needed.
The report by Caroline Russell AM has four key recommendations:
- The Mayor of London should introduce a hit and run action plan and set a target to reduce hit and run collisions as part of his Vision Zero strategy.
- The MPS and Transport for London (TfL) must improve both the quality of the data they capture on hit and run collisions in London, and the way that data is stored, analysed, and shared with the public in future.
- The MPS and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) should respond to written questions in the agreed time frame and to a consistent standard.
- The MPS and TfL should address all data inconsistencies and provide a validated set of data showing the number of hit and run collisions each year since 2010, recording the victim’s mode of travel, severity of injury and mode of travel of the person failing to stop, so that trends can be accurately tracked. They should also analyse changes in hit and runs since 2010 and report their findings and proposed actions to Londoners.
These are all needed even more now as the problem is worsening. With data provided from DfT, Action Vision Zero highlighted the 2022 toll from hit and runs in London. This showed a 33% increase in deaths, with seven pedestrians, five motorcyclists and two cyclists killed.
The police should respond this week in the serious injury collision investigation inquiry
This new report is timely. On Wednesday, the Met gave evidence to the London Police and Crime Committee on their inquiry into serious injury collision investigation.
This is the second session of the inquiry with concerns raised in the first by campaigners, solicitors and victims. You can watch that session here.
Action Vision Zero gave evidence at the first session and highlighted the problem of hit and run collisions in our response as well as the disproportionate effect on people walking and cycling.
Greater transparency overall is needed
Transparency around collision investigation outcomes has been a long-standing call for road danger reduction campaigners. And London’s Vision Zero Action plan does include efforts to improve the reporting of outcomes. But there is no annual report which allows analysis or comparisons between modes or time of day. It is still not possible to know how often hit and run collisions result in a prosecution.
AVZ is also campaigning for national reform on hit and run offences. With Lucy Harrison, the RoadPeace West Midlands Local Group Co-ordinator, our Remain and Report campaign calls for new criminal offences and a reduced reporting time from 24 hours to two. See the resources produced for MPs at our parliamentary event in January 2023.
We have also consulted with many police and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) on this crime and how well it is investigated. No police service has to date reported the outcome of fatal and serious injury hit and run collisions. We have argued that the police should know how many drivers attempting to evade justice are identified and prosecuted. We have urged the Met and TfL to report such data and we strongly endorse Caroline’s call for better monitoring of hit and run collisions and that greater priority is given to catching these cowardly criminals who cause so much devastation to innocent families.
actionvisionzero.org 