TfL and Met Police to get tough on anti-social driving

A new team has been set up to prevent illegal and inconsiderate driving in London with particular focus on acts liable to cause congestion. A Transport for London (TfL) team will be deployed in 10 key locations to help tackle the kinds of behaviour that can cause delays to road users, such as illegal parking or unloading of deliveries.

Illegally parked cars and delivery vehicles are of course especially problematic for cyclists, necessitating that they move out into traffic to overtake. The London Evening Standard reports that the TfL team will be able to help move unlawfully stopped vehicles and issue Penalty Charge Notices to illegally parked vehicles. Officers will also work with businesses along the routes to try and improve the way they receive and manage deliveries.

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The team will comprise 40 officers, rising to 80 in the spring, and will work alongside the TfL-funded Metropolitan Police Roads and Transport Policing Command, which was launched by the Mayor in January. It will have access to real time data from traffic cameras and bus drivers and will also send information back to TfL’s control room.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said that where officers were deployed, there would be a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to motorists causing an obstruction.

“This new team of officers is being deployed to actively solve the problems that cause delays for drivers and bus passengers. These are often caused by inconsiderate behaviour, like illegal stopping or parking in bus lanes, and the new team will tackle this head on – adopting a zero tolerance approach to obstructions that cause congestion.

“We work hard to keep London’s traffic moving every day, through our state of the art traffic signal technology, Traffic Control Centre and innovations in social media. Having more people on the ground will deliver an even better service to all of London’s road users.”

Initially, the TfL team will focus on the following ten locations:

• Gracechurch Street, Bank
• Eastcheap to Leadenhall, Bank
• Gosport Street to Hoe Street, Walthamstow
• Hackney Road to Ball Pond Road, Dalston
• Ladywell to Loampit Vale, Lewisham
• Highshore Road to Heaton Road, Peckham
• Manor Park Road/Craven Park to Manor Park Road/High Street, Harlsden
• Kensington High Street to Notting Hill Gate, Kensington
• Columbia Avenue to Balmoral Road, Worcester Park
• Gatton Road to Trevelyn Road, Tooting