Number of teenagers killed on Merton roads triples (From Wimbledon Guardian)
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Number of teenagers killed on Merton roads triples
1:10pm Monday 1st June 2009 in News By Craig Burnett
The number of teenage pedestrians killed or seriously injured on Merton’s streets shot up last year, new figures show.
Ten people aged between 13 and 19 years old died or were seriously hurt on the borough’s roads in 2008 - more than triple the 2007 figure of just three people.
The increase, which is the largest in the capital, was described as a “major rise” by Transport for London (TfL), who released the figures earlier this week.
A road safety charity has called for more 20mph zones and compulsory road safety lessons in Merton’s schools to try and address the problem.
A TfL spokesman said that as the borough’s 2007 total was one of the smallest in London, the number in 2008 is still relatively low. The figure for the capital as a whole fell from 393 to 367.
Chris Lines, head of the TfL London road safety unit, said: “London has seen yet another reduction in the number of teenage casualties, but the message still needs to be loud and clear – every day a teenager is killed or seriously injured on London roads.
“There are many contributing factors to any collision and TfL takes tackling them very seriously. We are working closely with the London boroughs and spending £45m this year on further safety measures.”
A spokeswoman for Brake, the national road safety charity, said his organisation wanted more 20mph speed limits on suburban roads.
She said: “By reducing the speed limit, if people are hit they have a much higher chance of survival.”
