Vulnerable Road Users

Since Well-maintained Highways was published in 2005, Government Policy with respect to highway maintenance has developed and evolved in a number of areas. There have also been a number of changes, including the introduction of new statutory duties on highway authorities. To assist users of this Code, the Roads Liaison Group has prepared complementary guidance to advise and direct users to where they may find more up to date information to assist them in implementing best practice and the recommendations of the Code. Users of the Code should treat this complementary guidance as up-to date and having the same status as the Code. Where paragraphs have been amended, they supersede the ones in the Code. It must be noted that these updates should not be read in isolation but should be considered within the context of the Code

Well-lit Highways was published in November 2004. Since then, Government Policy in respect to highway lighting has developed and evolved in a number of areas. There have also been a number of changes, including the introduction of new statutory duties on highways authorities. To assist users of this Code, the Roads Liaison Group has prepared this complementary guidance to advise and direct users to where they may find more up to date information to assist them in implementing best practice and the recommendations of the Code. Users of the Code should treat this complementary guidance as up to date and having the same status as the Code. Where paragraphs have been amended, they supersede the ones in the Code.

The SROH sets out standards to ensure highway is returned to use following work by statutory undertakers to the appropriate standard. This statutory Code is published by the Secretary of State under Section 71 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. Changes in SROH provide a wider range of approved materials and working methods to undertakers carrying out works.

This is the full independent report that was commissioned to evaluate the results from the 'Sustainable Travel Towns' - Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester. These towns implemented packages of 'Smarter Choice' measures, which resulted in increases in cycling, walking and bus use, and decreases in car use. The evaluation was led by Transport for Quality of life Ltd, with a team involving TRL, University of Aberdeen, AEA and the University of the West of England.

Designing Streets is the first policy statement in Scotland for street design and marks a change in the emphasis of guidance on street design towards place-making and away from a system focused upon the dominance of motor vehicles. It has been created to support the Scottish Government’s place-making agenda and is intended to sit alongside the 2001 planning policy document Designing Places, which sets out government aspirations for design and the role of the planning system in delivering these.

This is a useful website that outlines Road Casualties in Great Britain. Factsheets include: Road Accidents, Fatalities, Pedestrian casualties, Pedal cycle casualties, Child casualties, and Motorcycle casualties.

This short guidance note on Permit Schemes is aimed at English local highway authorities, and provides tips and suggestions on scheme development and application practicalities. It reflects experience and lessons learned during the development and approval of the first schemes, and should be read in conjunction with, other Department for Transport (DfT) guidance documents giving more detailed advice.

In 2008, 115 pedal cyclists were killed and 2,450 reported as seriously injured on Britain’s roads, accounting for 9% of all killed or seriously injured (KSI) road casualties. The Government is committed to reducing road casualties for all road users, including cyclists, and has a national casualty target of reducing by 40% the number of people KSI in road collisions by 2010, compared with the baseline average for 1994-98. Whilst there is no specific target relating to cyclists, in 2004 the number of KSI had fallen to 38% below the baseline average. However, the number of KSI has increased steadily since then and in 2007 and 2008 was 31% below the baseline average. The Department for Transport commissioned research to assess the causes of collisions involving cyclists. This report investigates the key causal factors relating to accidents involving cyclists. The work involved an international literature review and a detailed analysis of cyclist casualties in Great Britain, drawing on both national and in-depth databases of road collisions and cycling. The main source of the casualty data was the national STATS19 injury accident data for 1994-2007. Contributory factor data has been recorded nationally as part of the STATS19 system from 2005 and is also reported. The main source of cycling activity data was the National Travel Survey (NTS)

There has been much debate in the literature and elsewhere regarding cycle helmets and their potential to prevent injury. This cycle helmet safety research report was commissioned to provide a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of cycle helmets in the event of an on-road accident, building on previous work undertaken for the Department for Transport (Towner et al., 2002). The programme of work evaluates the effectiveness of cycle helmets from several perspectives, including a review current test Standards; a biomechanical investigation of their potential limitations; a review of recent literature; and finally an assessment of the casualties who could be prevented if cycle helmets were more widely used. This report focuses on understanding whether cycle helmets reduce the frequency and severity of injury in the event of a collision. It does not include detailed consideration of whether wearing (or not wearing) a helmet influences the likelihood of being involved in an accident, either through behaviour changes in the rider or in other road users. The project concludes that in the event of an on-road accident, cycle helmets would be expected to be effective in a range of real-world accident conditions, particularly the most common accidents that do not involve a collision with another vehicle and are often believed to consist of simple falls or tumbles over the handlebars.

In 2008, 115 pedal cyclists were killed and 2,450 reported as seriously injured on Britain’s roads, accounting for 9% of all killed or seriously injured (KSI) road casualties. The Government is committed to reducing road casualties for all road users, including cyclists, and has a national casualty target of reducing by 40% the number of people KSI in road collisions by 2010, compared with the baseline average for 1994-98. Whilst there is no specific target relating to cyclists, in 2004 the number of KSI had fallen to 38% below the baseline average. However, the number of KSI has increased steadily since then and in 2007 and 2008 was 31% below the baseline average. The Department for Transport commissioned research to assess the causes of collisions involving cyclists. This report is a technical annex to the main report which investigates the key causal factors relating to accidents involving cyclists. The work involved an international literature review and a detailed analysis of cyclist casualties in Great Britain, drawing on both national and in-depth databases of road collisions and cycling. The main source of the casualty data was the national STATS19 injury accident data for 1994-2007. Contributory factor data has been recorded nationally as part of the STATS19 system from 2005 and is also reported. The main source of cycling activity data was the National Travel Survey (NTS).