Watch our animation, for a brief overview of Vision Zero, which was launched by Surrey RoadSafe in December 2024

 

Vision Zero animation with captions

The Vision Zero and Safe Systems approach derives from the Stockholm Declaration which was the culmination of the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 2020. It is widely considered by governments, local authorities and police throughout the world as the best practice approach to road safety and reducing road casualties.

A Safe System approach puts people at its centre, based on the belief that every road death or serious injury is preventable. It’s three main principles;

  1. Human beings make frequent mistakes that lead to road collisions;
  2. The human body by nature has a limited ability to sustain collision forces with known tolerance to injury thresholds; and
  3. It’s a shared responsibility between stakeholders (road users, road managers, vehicle manufacturers, etc.) to take appropriate actions to ensure that road collisions don’t lead to serious or fatal injuries.

With Vision Zero, we aim to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 65% by 2035—and completely eliminate them by 2050.

The Vision Zero Road Safety Strategy adopts the five components of the Safe System approach. The work conducted will be underpinned by data, research evidence and evaluation to reduce road casualties.

A Safe System approach puts people at its centre.

Key Highlights

20 mph Speed Limits

Our aim is to have a flexible policy that will facilitate the implementation of 20 mph schemes across Surrey’s residential areas, town centres and near schools, where this is supported by local people. This is vital if we’re to tackle the high number of pedestrian and cycling casualties; most of which are taking place on 30 mph speed limit roads in built-up areas.

Enhanced Speed Management

In July 2022 Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for road safety approved additional funding of £1million per year for three years for use in tackling some of the worst speeding hotspots and sites with a history of collisions. This is being invested in traffic calming schemes, junction improvements, average speed cameras, and spot-speed cameras. We will aim to successfully tackle the 33 worst sites by 2030.

Review of Rural Speed Limits

We are aiming to review and replace all of the 60 mph national speed limit roads in Surrey with new lower limits where appropriate, by 2028.

3rd Party Reporting Using Video

Increasing numbers of road users are using vehicle mounted or body worn cameras.

Surrey Police provide a process for road users to submit video footage of alleged driving offences so, if necessary, the evidence can be used to pursue prosecutions. We will provide additional advice and guidance on how to submit quality footage to aid prosecutions.

Secondary School Pre-Driver Education

From the academic year 2023/24, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service will disseminate the latest best practice intervention “DriveFit pre-driver workshops” throughout Surrey’s sixth forms and colleges.

Feetfirst: Walking Training

In 2022, Surrey County Council introduced a new pedestrian training initiative for year 3 children (aged 7-8 years), available to all schools in Surrey. There are about 13,000 children in a single year group across Surrey. Our aim is to increase the take up of this offer, so that, by 2030, at least 75% of children in this age group receive this training each year.

Cycle Training

Surrey is one of the biggest Bikeability providers in Great Britain. Just under half of the target age group of children for level 1 and level 2 receive Bikeability training (a total of nearly 11,000 pupils). The Bikeability Trust have set a national target of 80% of the target age group to have taken a Level 2 course by 2025. We will work with the Bikeability Trust to increase the reach of Bikeability across Surrey reach this target.

Road Safety Outside Schools

In July 2022, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Road Safety approved additional funding of £1m per year for three years for use in implementing schemes outside schools to improve road safety and overcome barriers to active travel. This is being invested in signalised crossings, zebra crossings, wider footways, traffic calming and Surrey’s first “School Street”.

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs)

By the end of 2023 Surrey County Council will have developed LCWIPs for each of Surrey’s eleven Boroughs and Districts. These will form the basis for bids to Active Travel England for new infrastructure to make walking and cycling safer and more accessible.

A25 Dorking to Reigate Department for Transport Safer Roads Fund

In April 2023, the Department for Transport provided a £1.8 million grant to reduce the risk of collisions along the 8.4km route of the A25 between Dorking and Reigate. This will be invested in speed management, safer roadsides, junction improvements and cycling and walking facilities by the end of the financial year 2024/25.

Media Campaigns and Publicity

The Surrey RoadSafe Communications team have pledged to renew their Partnership Communications Strategy for 2024-26 in line with Vision Zero. The Communications and Engagement strategy will underpin the partnership’s aims, objectives and principles. It will also outline campaign messaging and themes, which will form the basis of their work.

There is overwhelming research evidence that reducing vehicle speeds successfully reduces the likelihood and severity of road collisions. Slower motor vehicle speeds encourages walking, wheeling, and cycling too. This will provide communities with more pleasant places to live and will help sustain local shops and businesses. Concerns over vehicle speeds are frequently mentioned by Surrey’s residents.

Our approach to safer speeds will focus on:

  • Setting appropriate speed limits
  • Improving compliance with speed limits

 

Setting Appropriate Speed Limits

20mph Speed Limit Policy

Reducing speeds in town centres, residential areas and village centres will be a primary focus of Vision Zero, especially around schools, where vulnerable road users are more exposed. In 2022 nearly half of all Surrey’s road casualties (49%) occurred on roads with a 30mph speed limit.

Recent data indicates that Surrey has among the highest number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties of any local authority in the UK. 81% of pedestrian casualties involving a motorist occur on roads with a 30mph speed limit. Similarly, 69% of cycling casualties took place on 30 mph speed limit roads, with 79% resulting from collisions with a motor vehicle.

Our policy adopts a flexible approach to implementing 20 mph speed limits which are supported by the local community.

Rural Speed Limit Review

We are conducting a review of all 60 mph national speed limit single carriageway rural roads throughout Surrey and we plan to have new lower speed limits applied by 2028 where applicable.

Improving Compliance With Speed Limits

Speed Management Plans

We will continue to maintain local speed management plans for each of Surrey’s eleven Districts or Boroughs. This means that whenever there are concerns about speeding at any location, we will measure vehicle speeds.

The data will be reviewed alongside road collision data to ascertain the extent and nature of the speeding and road safety problem at each site. Through the Surrey RoadSafe Partnership, Surrey County Council and Surrey Police road safety specialists will prioritise sites in need of the most attention, and make appropriate interventions, as necessary.

In June 2022, the Surrey County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for road safety allocated a total of £3m to help tackle excessive vehicle speeds and improve road safety in Surrey. This money is being invested in traffic calming, junction improvements, average speed cameras and spot speed cameras at the sites with the worst speeding and collisions, identified through the speed management plan process.

We will aim to tackle the worst 33 high priority speeding and casualty problem sites by implementing permanent solutions to improve compliance with the speed limit at all these sites by 2030. This list will continue to be reviewed on an ongoing basis as new sites emerge that become a greater priority.

To realise our Vision Zero ambition, we will aim to have competent road users who abide by the rules of the recently updated Highway Code. All road users should behave with respect and courtesy towards other road users, with particular attention being paid to vulnerable road users such as, people walking, wheeling, cycling or riding horses.

We will improve road user skills & behaviour by:

  • Continuing to provide comprehensive enforcement of road traffic laws targeting the “Fatal Five“
  • Providing additional advice and guidance on how to submit quality video footage to aid prosecutions of third-party reporting of traffic offences.
  • Continuing to provide a range of National Driver Offender Rehabilitation courses in place of the usual penalty for a range of road traffic offences.
  • Expanding Feet First Walking Training to 75% of year three children (aged 7-8) annually (10,000 children) by 2030.
  • Developing a Feet First Walking Training Extension course for older year six children (aged 9-10) and launching the course to schools during the academic year 2024/25.
  • Expanding Bikeability Level 2 courses so that the training is provided to 80% of children before they leave primary school.
  • Reviewing our secondary school-based road safety drama workshops and launching new interventions during the academic year 2024/25.
  • Launching DriveFIT pre-driver road safety education course across Surrey’s Sixth Forms and Colleges during the academic year 2024/25.
  • Continuing to provide BikeSafe motorcycle training courses.

We will make it safer by:

  • Hosting Road Safety Working Groups every six months for each of Surrey’s Boroughs and Districts to identify and diagnose road safety problems and develop solutions for the worst collision hotspots throughout the County.
  • Implementing low-cost highway improvement schemes with the greatest potential for reducing road collisions using an annual budget of £200,000.
  • Implementing a £3m programme of “Road Safety Outside Schools” infrastructure schemes to improve road safety and overcome barriers to more walking, wheeling, push scooting and cycling for school journeys.
  • Implementing the £1.8m A25 Dorking to Reigate Department for Transport Safer Roads Fund Scheme by the end of the financial year 2024/25.
  • Continue to undertake road safety audits of all new highway schemes.
  • Promote the use of the new Healthy Streets for Surrey design guide by developers.
  • Continue to implement highway improvement and maintenance programmes with the aim of making journeys across the county easier, more predictable, and safer.

We will improve the safety of vehicles by:

  • Educating drivers on the vehicle safety checks that they should be undertaking, especially during bad weather.
  • Attending public engagement events to educate and show drivers how to carry out vehicle checks, for example at motorway service stations in collaboration with National Highways.
  • Promoting the Tyre-Safe and Driving for Better Business initiatives and signposting parents to guides on buying and fitting child car seats correctly.
  • Enforcement of correct vehicle maintenance and safety standards by Surrey Police officers, especially the specialist Vanguard Team, Roads Policing Unit and Casualty Reduction Officers.
  • Using Social Media Channels (@SurreyRS and SurreyRoadSafe) to:
    • conduct targeted campaigns aimed at particular road user groups (Drivers, Motorcyclists, Cyclists, Young Drivers etc.)
    • highlight examples of enforcement to act as a deterrent
    • Provide vehicle maintenance and safety advice
    • Provide signposting to useful resources to enable people to access necessary information easily

We will improve our post collision response by:

  • Undertaking risk assessments using the National Fire Chief’s Council guidelines to identify locations of higher risk so that emergency services can have the most appropriate resources at the right locations
  • Promote the use of the eCall SOS notification scheme
  • The Fire and Rescue Service will continue to use the latest technology and operational procedures to ensure a swift and safe extrication of a casualty
  • Providing advice and information to motorists on how to let emergency vehicles pass by safely and efficiently
  • Providing advice to road users on what to do in the event of a collision before emergency services arrive
  • Surrey Police will investigate fatal and very serious collisions in detail. Any highway defects that might have contributed to any such incident will be rectified urgently
  • Providing information to bereaved families on the support that might be available to them from organisations such as Brake and Road Peace.

Read the full report.