Our ref: FOI-2387-1617
Thank you for your email received by us on 28 February 2017 asking for information about road accidents. I apologise for the delay in replying to you.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our Information Access Policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
Q1. Would you be able to tell me if accidents on Battersea Park Road occur often? If so, do you have any relevant figures?
Analysis tends to be done over 36 months (or sometimes five years) as this represents a reasonable time for a scheme to ‘settle in’ and its effects measured. Any longer than this and other changes on the network are more likely to affect collisions and traffic behaviour. We have looked at the last three full year’s data we have from the Police. From 2013 to 2015, there have been 136 personal injury collisions, 15 serious and 121 slight, at Battersea Park Road between Falcon Road and Thessaly Road. No fatalities have been recorded for this time period. Severity is defined by the Department of Transport, full details are available in the STATS20 Instructions for the Completion of Road Accident Reports document. Examples of serious injury generally relate to injuries that may involve admission in hospital as an in-patient such as fractures, head injuries, deep cuts etc. Slight injuries include whiplash, bruising and slight shock.
We work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police to collate annual collision figures for the Greater London area. Data for 2015 and earlier years is published at https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety Road safety figures for 2016 are currently provisional and are being verified ahead of publication in the summer, alongside the Department for Transport’s publication of the national dataset. The national dataset is for personal injury collisions occurring on the public highway involving one or more vehicles in Great Britain and reported to the Police within 30 days.
Therefore in accordance with the FOI Act, TfL is not obliged to supply you with information for 2016 as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information, under Section 22 of the Act. In this instance the exemption has been applied as the information you have requested is intended for future publication.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test, which requires us to assess whether the public interest in applying the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In this instance, it is considered that the public interest favours the publication of this information, in context and according to the pre-determined schedule, rather than in response to your request, to ensure the information is provided accurately and in an accessible manner.
Q2. Are the numbers of road traffic accidents and fatalities above or below the national and city average?
Collision numbers at different locations are dependant on many factors such as road length, traffic speeds, junction types etc. We produce a document entitled ‘Collisions Levels in Greater London’ and the latest version can be found under Research Reports here:https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety . This gives an indication of collisions levels on London’s roads by borough and road type. Battersea Park Road is a Transport for London Road in the borough of Wandsworth.
Q3. What is usually the main cause in road traffic accidents in the area?
Detailed open road safety data is available for analysis on our website under ‘Data Extracts’ https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety . Alternatively the Collision Map for London which can be found here https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/london-collision.This shows all reported collisions in the London area and gives brief details, including casualty information. It is possible to filter the information shown by casualty mode and severity.
Any death or serious injury on our roads is a tragedy and that is why the Mayor has asked TfL to develop a ‘Vision Zero’ approach to reducing road danger as part of his forthcoming Transport Strategy. This means vigorously enforcing traffic law, putting safety at the core of road engineering projects and working to discourage dangerous behaviour on the roads.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
Melissa Nichols
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
