London struggles to cut road deaths

* Survey of European capitals * London rates fall 1% in 10 years * Dublin achieves best drop with 12%...

London struggles to cut road deaths

London is one of the poorest European capital cities for cutting road deaths, according to a new survey.

The research, by the European Transport Safety Council, studied road deaths per 100,000 residents of 24 capital cities between 1997 and 2007.

London finished 21 of the 24 cities analysed, achieving a fall of just 1%.

Dublin topped the league table, achieving a reduction of 12%.

The risk of being killed in a capital city is approximately half that of dying on other roads, but it is seen as an effective pointer to a nations overall safety improvements.

The EU set a target of halving road deaths in Europe's capital cities between 1997 and 2010. This requires an average drop of 7.4% per year.