Revealed: How over 450 Londoners harm by bus MIRRORS since 2018

Hundreds of Londoners have been hurt by bus mirrors since 2018 as the number of injuries continues to soar despite the capital’s bus fleet shrinking.

More than 450 people have been hurt in the last six years, suggesting that Sadiq Khan‘s flagship strategy to ‘eradicate’ deaths and serious injuries from London roads is not working.

Last year saw the highest number of people getting injured due to bus mirrors for six years with a whopping 106 pedestrians hit, marking an increase of 70 per cent.

And the figures have been steadily increasing over the last three years, tarnishing the Mayor of London’s Vision Zero campaign to target road accidents. 

Lambeth topped the list of London boroughs with the most incidents, with 11 of the 37 collisions in the area since 2018 taking place on a Friday or Saturday night, The Telegraph reports.

Hundreds of Londoners have been hurt by bus mirrors since 2018 as the number of injuries continues to soar despite the capital’s bus fleet shrinking (Stock Photo)

More than 450 people have been hurt in the last six years, suggesting that Sadiq Khan’s flagship strategy to ‘eradicate’ deaths and serious injuries from London roads is not working (Stock Photo)

Meanwhile, Route 91 running between Trafalgar Square and Crouch End, north London, reported the most injuries from wing mirrors across the time period. 

Tom Kearney, from Camden, said that he had been put in a coma in 2009 after a bus mirror hit the back of his head on Oxford Street.

He said: ‘Given the fact that TfL’s own data shows that the number of people killed and injured from bus safety incidents is now higher than when the present mayor took office in May 2016, the fact that there’s a rising number of people injured from bus wing mirror collisions should not come as a surprise.’

The 59-year-old, who now campaigns to increase awareness of such injuries, suffered lung and head injuries from the impact of the mirror, which typically weighs 2kg along with its mounting arms. 

He added: ‘What is a surprise is that all these alarming trends persist years after the Mayor and TfL have announced a number of “world-leading” bus safety programmes and a Vision Zero programme.’

The shocking figures come as Mr Khan’s bus fleet continues to shrink in size, with eight per cent fewer vehicles serving Londoners now compared with 2016.

Last year TfL said it had just 8,643 in service, down from 9,415 eight years ago. 

Conservative chairman of the London Assembly Andrew Boff said: ‘Whilst we welcome the number of bus fatalities falling, what these figures actually show is that a significant number of people are still being injured by London buses each year.’ 

Tom Cunnington, TfL‘s Head of Buses Business Development, said: ‘A safe bus network is vital for all Londoners and we’re taking action to eliminate death and serious injury as part of our Vision Zero goal.

Sadiq Khan pictured in Hampstead, London, on May 30. The shocking figures come as Mr Khan’s bus fleet continues to shrink in size, with eight per cent fewer vehicles serving Londoners now compared with 2016

Conservative chairman of the London Assembly Andrew Boff (pictured) said: ‘Whilst we welcome the number of bus fatalities falling, what these figures actually show is that a significant number of people are still being injured by London buses each year’

‘Over the past three years, there has been an increase in injuries as Londoners’ travel returns to pre-pandemic patterns and while the numbers of incidents are extremely low compared to the number of buses and pedestrians in London, we are committed to eliminating these. 

‘We’re working to replace wing mirrors on our buses with camera monitor systems to eradicate the risk of mirror strikes, with 1,500 buses now fitted with these. 

‘All new buses on our fleet are fitted with cameras instead of mirrors and we’re also working to retrofit existing buses with these systems.’