Putney MP, Fleur Anderson, has thrown her full support behind the Labour Government’s Road Safety Strategy – the first in more than a decade – a plan Fleur says “can’t come a moment too soon.”
The new strategy lands as new figures expose a grim reality: four people are killed every single day on England’s roads, with thousands more suffering life‑changing injuries. After what campaigners call “a lost decade” of stalled progress, ministers are now promising a major crackdown to stop the carnage.
Key measures of the new strategy include:
- Tougher action against dangerous drivers
- Consultation on lowering the drink‑drive limit
- Stronger clampdown on drug‑driving
- Major reforms to driver training and testing
- Possible minimum learning period for learner drivers
- Mandatory high‑tech safety features in all new cars
- Overhaul of national speed‑limit guidance
- Updated road‑design standards
- Creation of a new Road Safety Investigation Branch to examine serious crashes
For Putney locals, the issue is painfully close to home. In November 2024, a cyclist was killed near the junction of West Hill and Lytton Grove. Just months later, in May 2025, a pedestrian died after being struck by a lorry near East Putney station. Locals say the ongoing closure of Hammersmith Bridge has funnelled dangerous levels of traffic into the area, turning already‑busy junctions into daily hazards.
Fleur has repeatedly warned that Putney High Street, Putney Bridge and surrounding roads have become “accident hotspots” as congestion surges, and she continues to push for the full reopening of Hammersmith Bridge – encouraging Putney residents join her for a rally at the Barnes end of the bridge at 2pm on 24 January.
Fleur Anderson MP said:
“Too many families have endured the heartbreak of losing loved ones or seeing lives changed forever by serious injuries on our roads. Progress has been far too slow for far too long, but this Labour Government is taking action where Conservatives did not.
“This new strategy finally puts saving lives back at the heart of transport policy. It strengthens protections for pedestrians and cyclists, raises safety standards for drivers, and sets out the long‑term action we need to make our streets genuinely safer.”
The strategy also sets out how government will work with councils, police and transport authorities over the coming decade, backed by long-term investment.
One of the biggest barriers to safer streets in Putney is the unresolved situation at Hammersmith Bridge, which has turned local roads into congestion hotspots and heightened the risk of serious collisions
Fleur said:
“I’m organising a rally at 2pm on 24 January at the Barnes end of Hammersmith Bridge to demand urgent action to repair and reopen it to traffic. I want as many local people as possible to join me and make it clear that our community cannot keep bearing the impact of this long‑running closure. Putney must benefit from this renewed national focus on road safety, and I’ll keep fighting until it does.”
