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London buses will be fitted with speed-limiting technology

'Particularly effective' in 20mph areas, say transport bosses ...

London buses will be fitted with technology to make sure they stick to local speed limits from next year, according to Transport for London (TfL).

In an attempt to make sure that fewer people are killed on London’s streets, the technology to prevent acceleration over speed limits has been tested and will now go into all new buses.

The system cannot prevent speed increases naturally when a bus is travelling downhill for example, but trials on two routes found that the adapted buses stayed within the limit 97 to 99 per cent of the time.

Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: "We are investigating a range of new technologies that can make our bus network the safest in the world."

He said he would now work with manufacturers so all buses coming off the production line could be fitted with the technology from next year.

The Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology is said to be ‘particularly effective’ in 20mph zones’ - which have been adopted in many locations across the capital, with the borough of Islington being instrumental in engaging with the lower safety limit.

TfL intends to require all new buses from 2017 to have this technology fitted.

Last month we reported how the Mayor of London and TfL launched a new safety programme across London's bus network. As well as new safety incentives and technological innovations, there will also be an additional safety training module for all drivers.

Other changes include greater transparency with regards to bus collision investigations and data, and the introduction of an Incident Support Service within TfL’s customer service team.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “I'm proud that we have one of the safest bus networks in the world, but I'm determined to see it get even better.

“By creating this world-leading programme we will be placing an even greater focus on safety, making the most of the latest technology and bold initiatives to help keep passengers and vulnerable road users safe.

“Through this we will be able to make real progress towards my target of significantly reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.”

Various safety innovations will be tested on London’s buses throughout the year and will be incorporated into new buses delivered from September 2017. Technology currently being considered includes collision avoidance systems where sensors warn the driver of potential dangers, triggering automatic emergency braking systems and improved wing mirror design and windscreen glazing to reduce the impact of a collision.

Last year we reported how one in 10 complaints about the behaviour of bus drivers in London are related to incidents involving cyclists.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Evening Standard to TfL found that cyclists were involved in 25 of around 250 incidents that were the subject of complaints made by the public during a two-week period last August.

In one of those, a number 45 bus hit a cyclist because the driver was apparently distracted by a female pedestrian, with the complainant saying: “He was concentrating on her so much that he didn’t see a cyclist and hit them.”

Another complaint recorded how a passenger saw the driver of a number 53 bus “overtake a cyclist causing her to be forced off the road and have to throw herself off the bike to ensure she did not get hit.”

However TfL said that the number of complaints received each year – between 4,000 and 5,000 – needed to be put into the context of the 2.4 billion passenger trips made by bus in the capital each year.

 

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10 comments

Avatar
Edgeley | 8 years ago
3 likes

Most London bus drivers are brilliant around cyclists.   However, there are a few rogues.    As well as speed limiters, how about finding out which drivers ought not to be driving - for instance by sending "mystery riders" onto buses.

 

 

Avatar
EddyBerckx | 8 years ago
5 likes

So...the point people have thus far missed...TFL have admitted their bus drivers routinely break the speed limit (ie the law) leading to preventable 'accidents' involving human casualties????

Maybe they might wanna do something about that in the meantime?

Avatar
Ronald replied to EddyBerckx | 8 years ago
1 like

StoopidUserName wrote:

So...the point people have thus far missed...TFL have admitted their bus drivers routinely break the speed limit (ie the law) leading to preventable 'accidents' involving human casualties????

Maybe they might wanna do something about that in the meantime?

 

Strava has the (segments!) technology to detect any  speed limit violations  3

I'm sure Strava would love the publicity of helping keep their customers save!

Avatar
clayfit | 8 years ago
6 likes

Why can't it work going downhill?  I've had a Mercedes and a VW Golf with cruise controls that limit the speed going downhill and stop the car running away on downhills.  The Mercedes even changes the gears to use engine braking.  So why can't buses do that?

Avatar
Bob's Bikes | 8 years ago
1 like

The headline is slightly misleading, as this tech will only be fitted to new vehicles after September 2017. Which when you consider how long tfl expects buses to survive/stay in service is not really all that big a deal/good thing for cyclists and pedestrians. Ask yourself the question how many years before all london buses have this tech?

Avatar
Chris | 8 years ago
1 like

Dunno. Sticking to speed limits is great, but surely not really an issue where buses are concerned. They have set routes and time-tables to stick to.

Danger from buses doesn't tend to occur because they are breaking speed limits.

Avatar
nowasps replied to Chris | 8 years ago
2 likes

Chris wrote:

Dunno. Sticking to speed limits is great, but surely not really an issue where buses are concerned. They have set routes and time-tables to stick to.

Danger from buses doesn't tend to occur because they are breaking speed limits.

 

There's quite a few bus drivers around Bath that drive aggressively and way too fast, especially through the narrow streets. This would be a great benefit here.

Avatar
pcb21 replied to Chris | 8 years ago
1 like

Chris wrote:

Dunno. Sticking to speed limits is great, but surely not really an issue where buses are concerned. They have set routes and time-tables to stick to.

Danger from buses doesn't tend to occur because they are breaking speed limits.

There is a massive difference in behaviour between most buses and those going to "Not In Service". Lacking passengers and with a driver at the end of his shift, NIS buses tend to be much more aggressive and often far too fast.

This tech should be very handy for that case.

Avatar
lolol | 8 years ago
3 likes

Could they also fit something to stop busses running red lights?

Avatar
hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
5 likes

"London buses will be fitted with technology to make sure they stick to local speed limits from next year, according to Transport for London (TfL)."

vs.

"TfL intends to require all new buses from 2017 to have this technology fitted."

 

there seems to be a contradiction in the message from TFL? 

Does this mean this only applies to new buses? Does this really mean there will 100+ old buses not carrying this safety measure, and still hazardous to many pedestrians and cyclists

would also be prudent for TFL to fit a technology to prevent the drivers blatantly driving through red traffic lights as I see too many buses doing exactly that every day in London. 

 

 

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