A report co-commissioned by the Bikeability Trust and Living Streets charities is calling for the “most radical reforms to road safety since mandatory seat belts” ahead of the Government’s highly anticipated Road Safety Strategy, that will be the first published by a UK government in over a decade. Recommendations include an immediate nationwide ban on pavement parking, default 20mph speed limits for motor vehicles in all urban areas, enshrining mandatory cycle training into the national curriculum and spending at least 10% of transport funding on cycling and walking. 

The report, titled ‘Safer Streets for All: The Upcoming Government Road Safety Strategy’, cites “conflict on Britain’s roads” because of “poor awareness” of recent changes to the Highway Code, including the concept of a hierarchy of road users, cyclists being advised to use the centre of the lane, and pedestrian priority at junctions. It says that less than two thirds of adults are able to correctly answer a Highway Code question on pedestrian priority, and that drivers “lack awareness of safe behaviour around cyclists and pedestrians”, failing to understand safe passing distances or overtaking. Indeed, awareness of new Highway Code changes are so lacking that in a call for evidence ahead of the Government’s promised reforms, one cyclist said he was pulled over and cautioned by police for riding two abreast. 

> Highway Code changes one year on: “Confusion has created the perfect storm and done little to improve safety for cyclists”

The report points to a recent YouGov survey that found that those who cycle weekly are 21% more likely to answer questions about the Highway Code correctly.

Emily Cherry, chief executive of the Bikeability Trust, commented: “The opportunity to create a new Road Safety Strategy is a green light for the Government to make bold, historic changes that protect and enshrine the rights and safety of every road user, now and for future generations.

“Britain’s roads could become the gold standard for promoting active travel and protecting vulnerable users – our report recommendation has been informed by our work with parents, young people, children, teachers, experts, partners and delivery riders.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Government on reforming road safety as a significant contributor to the Government missions.”

Children cycling on Active Travel Street
Children cycling on Active Travel Street (Image Credit: Exeter Cycling Campaign)

There are plenty of recommendations around the next generation of pedestrians and cyclists, including that call to add cycling to the national curriculum. The report states that increasing levels of Bikeability training is “associated with lower levels of people being killed or seriously injured”, yet that training isn’t yet on the curriculum. It also recommends improved training for adult cyclists, including the development of a national training standard for commercial cargo bike use. 

Despite some tabloid headlines suggesting otherwise, the report says there is “public appetite” for more ‘School Streets’ – essentially the restriction of motor vehicles outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times – with surveys showing as much as 81% of people agreeing that there is too much traffic around schools. 20mph ‘quiet streets’, segregated cycle lanes, main road crossings and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are recommended as the most important measures for making journeys to school safer. 

Kidical Mass London said: “Our experience is that children as young as five can often comfortably cycle long distances unaided (for example, rides of up to six miles) and enjoy doing so.

“It is not children’s ability or will that holds back cycling, but rather other factors including the lack of safety and lack of dedicated infrastructure on the road network.”  

The report also mentions the rise of the SUV numerous times, saying that supersized cars are “a growing threat” to the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, and that children are eight times more likely to be killed in a collision with an SUV driver as opposed to the driver of a smaller vehicle.

It recommends that the size and weight of private cars on UK roads should be curbed, because SUVs and pickup-style trucks now account for 66% of new vehicle registrations in the UK. It also calls for Swedish-style ‘progressive’ fines based on income, where higher earners have to pay higher fines for traffic violations. 

Will the Government actually implement any of these recommendations?

Heidi Alexander cycling in pop-up bike lane
Heidi Alexander cycling in pop-up bike lane (Image Credit: Heidi Alexander (@Heidi_Labour on Twitter))

Though Heidi Alexander – the Secretary of State for Transport – is a cycling convert, it could be argued the wider Labour administration she serves in has been somewhat lukewarm when it comes to cycling and active travel since being elected last July. Keir Starmer’s social media feeds have mentioned that the party is “on the side of drivers” a number of times pre- and post-election, and the Department for Transport looks likely to introduce a ‘dangerous cycling’ law that has been condemned as disproportionate and failing to tackle wider problems on UK roads by campaign groups and active travel advocates such as Chris Boardman. 

Despite this, a spokesperson for the Bikeability Trust and Living Streets told road.cc that the Department for Transport is “very interested to read” the report, and will take the recommendations into consideration. Alexander and other Labour politicians have already spoken publicly about the need to tackle pavement parking, and it’s this that could potentially prove an easy win – with only a noisy minority of detractors – for a government feeling the pressure after a very humbling round of local elections.

Introducing mandatory 20mph limits and urging councils to implement more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, restricting the sales of SUVs, spending 10% of the transport budget on active travel and compulsory cycle training for children may all prove to be much tougher sells; but even if a lot of the recommendations don’t make it in, that the Government is coming good on its promise to deliver a Road Safety Strategy in the first place may be seen as a positive step.