Bow Road Hit & Run. Photo: Peter Ball
The number of hit-and-run incidents in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Croydon have increased dramatically over the past few years, according to figures gathered by London Assembly member Sian Berry.
Nearly five thousand hit-and-runs were reported in London 2015; the figures were collected from official Government sources.
The report shows six out of 33 boroughs, have seen a reduction in hit-and-runs in that time, including Lewisham which is down 12 per cent from 2011, bucking the wider trend.
But in Tower Hamlets, hit and run accidents in 2015 increased by having a total of 174 cases in 2011 to 326 in 2015, which was an 87 per cent increase over the past five years.
Tower Hamlets being the worst affected in the East London Lines area and Merton with the greatest increase in London at 149 percent.
Not far behind Tower Hamlets, was Hackney at 77 per cent and Croydon at a 22 percent increase since 2011.
Hit & Run Incidents Increase. Data: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sian_berry_am_hit_and_run_nov2016_1.pdf
The Green Party politician said that the boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham have reduced their numbers of hit-and-run figures and that she wanted to see if their approach could be remodelled across London.
In total, there were 4,945 people injured by hit-and-run drivers last year in London. This includes 11 people killed and 287 left with serious injuries.
Hit & Run Incidents Involving Casualties Data: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sian_berry_am_hit_and_run_nov2016_1.pdf
The report says that hit-and-run cases now make up one in five collisions in London, and the figures have continued to grow since 2009, with a 60 per cent increase.
The Mayor of London has admitted that the current systems used by the Metropolitan Police are inadequate to track hit-and-run prosecutions.
“Greens on the London Assembly have been asking for many years for more effort to be made to detect and get off the road uninsured and unlicensed drivers,” Berry told ELL.
Berry said she was “disappointed” the Metropolitan Police haven’t been able to provide data on the rates of prosecutions of hit-and-run drivers.
The Assembly Member also said that there was “a real epidemic” of drivers failing to stop after an accident, and action is needed from the police to address it.
“Greens on the London Assembly have been asking for many years for more effort to be made to detect and get off the road uninsured and unlicensed drivers,” she told ELL.
“It’s possible that initiatives of this kind in [the Lewisham] area have helped to reduce these drivers, but I can’t be sure until the police give me more details. I will be asking the Mayor more about this next month.”
The Metropolitan Police are aware of the problem and are “working hard” to reduce to collision rates and said: “All such incidents, including those that are hit-and-runs are fully investigated with the utmost priority.”
Due to their current IT computing systems, the Met Police are unable to report the rate of hit-and-run prosecutions but are working on a “fail-to-stop collision prosecutions” system from 2017.
Berry’s report came after several Croydon schools were awarded the Sustainable Travel ‘Active, Responsible, Safe’ award for promoting active travel and road safety within and around their school.
Croydon Cabinet member for environment and transport, Councillor Stuart King, said: “Learning how to be active and stay safe when travelling to school on our busy roads is a crucial lesson for our local children, and I’m pleased that these schools have been recognised for their work in spreading these important messages.”
