Request ID: FOI-2955-2324 Date published: 15 December 2023
You asked
Please provide me with the number of injuries caused by wing mirrors striking pedestrians between 1 January 2018 and 30 September 2023.
With each incident, please provide:
• date of incident.
• type of injury.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-2955-2324
Thank you for your request received on 20 November 2023 asking for information about incidents involving pedestrians being struck by bus wing mirrors.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
Safety is our top priority and a safe bus network is at the heart of the Mayor's Vision Zero goal to eliminate death and serious injury on the transport network.
Mirrors are an integral part of bus design to give drivers extensive visibility of the near-side and off-side of the bus as well as interior areas where passengers stand. As part of our plans to reduce incidents of all types as much as possible we introduced a new Bus Safety Standard for London. As part of this, all new buses are fitted with Camera Monitoring Systems (CMS) rather than wing mirrors, which eradicates the risk of mirror strikes occurring as well as reducing drivers’ blind spots. So far 1,113 buses have been fitted with camera monitoring systems. To expedite the roll out of this technology which gives bus drivers a better view of their surroundings, we are also seeking to retrofit CMS to existing buses where possible.
Between 1 January 2018 and 30 September 2023, a total of 417 incidents involving bus wing mirrors occurred. The split by financial year is shown in the table below.
The attached .csv file provides a breakdown of each incident and the associated injury severity. Please note injury severity is only available from 1 April 2020 due to changes in the reporting system used for bus safety incidents, prior to that date the category type for these cases is listed as ‘n/a’ in the attached file.
Financial Year
Number of Incidents involving Bus Wing Mirrors
2017-18*
14
2018-19
57
2019-20
91
2020-21
37
2021-22
62
2022-23
93
2023-24**
63
*From 01/01/2018
**Results valid to 30/09/2023
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
