Skip to main content

IAM RoadSmart criticises UK Highway Code update proposal

UK proposals to alter existing advice in a bid to make vulnerable road users (VRUs) safer have been criticised by safety campaigners. The Department for Transport is considering a change to the Highway Code which would mean motorists should give way at all times to pedestrians and cyclists crossing at side roads. But IAM RoadSmart says this does not go far enough – and insists that longer-term measures to keep drivers and cyclists segregated in a safer cycling environment must be introduced. As things
October 22, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

UK proposals to alter existing advice in a bid to make vulnerable road users (VRUs) safer have been criticised by safety campaigners.

The 1837 Department for Transport is considering a change to the Highway Code which would mean motorists should give way at all times to pedestrians and cyclists crossing at side roads.

But IAM RoadSmart says this does not go far enough – and insists that longer-term measures to keep drivers and cyclists segregated in a safer cycling environment must be introduced.

As things stand, rule 170 of the code says that pedestrians have priority “if they have started to cross”. But it does not say who has right of way if someone is about to step off a pavement at the same time a vehicle arrives at a junction.

“For us it’s all about segregation, and safe streets for cycling and walking if you want to get cycle usage to really take off,” says Rebecca Ashton, head of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart.

“If the government is serious about wanting to increase the uptake of cycling and reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads, there has to be a long-term approach to a comprehensive cycle path network.”

8101 Highways England last week announced a £3 million contract with Sustrans to help deliver a national programme of improvements to the National Cycle Network.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • USDoT’s NETT is welcome – but Toyota unhappy at V2X development
    August 15, 2019
    The US Department of Transportation has announced a new council to champion emerging mobility tech – but one car manufacturer is currently not feeling that such support is everything it might be The announcement of a brand new body to champion autonomous vehicles (AVs) - among other innovations – is a potentially welcome development for mobility and transit providers. Elaine L. Chao, US secretary of transportation, says that the newly-created Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT)
  • Hayden AI & Snapper Services keep their eyes on the road
    August 29, 2024
    Snapper Services CEO Miki Szikszai and Chris Carson, CEO of Hayden AI, tell Adam Hill about synergy and partnership – and how to make use of data once you’ve gathered it
  • How to secure future shares in mobility
    May 19, 2022
    Shared Mobility Action Agenda focuses on transport from ride-hail to micromobility
  • Banning new petrol and diesel cars a ‘smokescreen’ for lacklustre air quality plan, says CILT
    August 2, 2017
    Following publication of the Government’s Air Quality Plan, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) believes that government could do better than the “weak and timid” plans, particularly given the urgency and the health risks. The Institute recently criticised the draft plan, saying the proposed measures to reduce NO2 concentrations were likely to be ineffective. Many towns and cities in England suffer excessive – and illegal – levels of NO2 concentrations on their busiest roads and these