Pedal Power

Issue 163
March 2023

AGM – Monday 13th March 2023

This year’s AGM will take place at 7-30pm on Monday 13th March 2023 at the Toby Carvery, Forest Road, Loughborough, LE11 3HU. Please try and attend as we have had difficulty in achieving a quorum in previous years.

Highway Code changes a year on

Based on an article at www.cyclinguk.org

One year on from a new Highway Code designed to improve the safety of people walking, cycling and horse riding, there has been little improvement in people’s awareness of how it affects their driving.

A YouGov poll, carried out in January on behalf of Cycling UK, indicates that a quarter of British adults asked were not aware of the changes to the Highway Code. Of those who were aware of the changes, just 28% were able to answer the question “how much space should a driver leave when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph?” correctly. Within this group, only 30% of people who drive at least once a week gave the correct answer of 1.5 metres. A similar survey conducted in 2022 recorded 33% of people, who drive at least once a week, were aware of changes to the Highway Code and gave the correct response.

Cycling UK is making the case that the lack of a public awareness campaign about the changes to the Highway Code in the build up to its introduction last year, together with some inaccurate and erroneous reporting about the changes in some media outlets, has caused public confusion.

Upon the introduction of the changes, THINK - the government body responsible for promoting road safety, ran a short-lived awareness campaign which was well received by road safety groups. Cycling UK believes this was a good first step, but argues these figures show how much more needs to be done to change entrenched driving behaviour, and the necessity for a sustained, well-funded awareness campaign of at least three years.

Government figures show the value of prevention per reported fatal road casualty was £2.1 million in 2021. That year 361 pedestrians and 111 cyclists died. The value of preventing these deaths for vulnerable road users would have been £1bn. The Government invested £500k in their THINK campaign to promote the new Highway Code in its first phase, and has reportedly spent £1.3 million overall on the campaign.

Only one in 50 cycle thefts results in a charge

Based on an article in the Guardian

Figures uncovered by Lib Dems show that only 1.7% of 74,421 cases over 12 months in England and Wales resulted in a charge and almost 90% of all bicycle theft cases reported to police over the past year were closed without a suspect even being identified.

Effect of Low-traffic Neighbourhoods

Based on an article in the Guardian

Research by the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy (ATA) indicates that low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) significantly reduce the number of motor vehicles within their boundaries without appearing to push traffic on to roads around their edges.

The research, which was based on traffic count data before and after the installation of 46 so-called LTNs in London, found a reduction in motor traffic within the zones of 32.7% when measured as the median, and a 46.9% drop when calculated as the mean.

Of the 413 roads inside the LTNs with before-and-after traffic counts, the percentage experiencing an average of fewer than 1,000 motor vehicles a day, seen as a good shorthand for a street receptive to more cycling and walking, rose from 41% to 66%. LTNs use either physical filters, such as bollards and planters, or traffic cameras to prevent motor vehicles using some smaller residential streets as through-routes, while bicycle and foot traffic is unaffected.

Data from the 174 count points on boundary roads showed a mixed picture. Of those monitored, 47% showed a fall in motor traffic and 53% showed an increase.

Within this, the researchers found what they called “substantial variation in both directions” on boundary roads. They concluded this was mainly due to non-LTN factors such as other works, and said more research could be done on reducing traffic on boundary routes.

Prof Rachel Aldred, the director of the ATA and co-author of the study, said: “The research indicates there has been overall ‘traffic evaporation’ as a result of these schemes, as the mean average reduction in motor traffic on internal roads is around 10 times higher than the mean average increase on boundary roads, adjusting for background trends.

“This suggests that not only do LTNs have substantial benefits inside their boundaries, but they can also contribute to wider traffic reduction goals.”

Network of Walking and Cycling Experts

Based on a press release from Active Travel England

Local councils will benefit from skills training and a boost to green jobs thanks to a £32.9 million scheme launched in January.

The investment will help local councils in England design, develop and consult on high-quality active travel schemes that work for residents and consider the local road network. These could include new school safety zones to encourage active travel, improved walking and cycling infrastructure on local high streets as well as new cycle and wheelchair paths.

The measures aim to get more people of all groups walking and cycling and help to address the barriers that exist. Surveys show the number one issue putting women off cycling is how safe they feel on the roads with 79% of women supporting more protected cycle lanes being built. Safety will therefore be the major focus for the new designs and routes.

This funding will support local authorities to maximise active travel investment by enhancing their technical skills. Local councils will be investing in resources dedicated to co-creating schemes communities want. Activities being funded include network planning, public engagement exercises and bespoke training for councillors and staff.

Making active travel part of everyday journeys can improve health, cut costs and protect the environment. Cycling UK has estimated that if people cycled short journeys, they would save an average of £126 per year in fuel costs alone and would burn hundreds of extra calories each week.

National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, said “If we want to enable hundreds of thousands more people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday trips then we need to deliver high-quality schemes that make it feel easy, fun and safe.

The funding will also be used to engage under-represented groups and enable more children to walk, wheel and cycle to school. Community engagement programmes will give individuals the confidence to walk and cycle safely through cycle training, school walking groups and bike rental schemes.”

Car Dependency

Based on an article at www.bikeisbest.com

New research (November 2022) has revealed the UK remains locked into car ownership, with 71% of Brits stating they expect to be car owners for most of their life, despite the rising costs associated with owning a car and the cost of living crisis.

Despite rising inflation and an economic recession, causing strains on the nation’s personal finances, 47% of the population feel that they have no alternative to running a car and spending 13% of their annual gross income on motoring. Those who have to obtain finance to run their car devote 19% of their total annual gross income to their car.

The research also reveals that higher earners, women, and those in their 30s and early 40s are more likely to expect that they will always be car owners, but 57% of British women state that they are worried about the cost of motoring.

In spite of car costs, 48% of people say they cannot afford a bike even though it's a preferred alternative to the car or public transport and 88% of the British public state that a bike purchase would actually have a strong health and happiness impact.

Those with car finance are more likely to be interested in buying a bike via a finance plan, or via a subscription with 68% of the British population confirming an interest in the cycle to work concept.

The average amount people are willing to pay on cycling comes in at £467 p.a.. This represents about 1% of gross annual salary, compared to 13% of salary spent on motoring.

Speed Limits Ignored

Based on press release from www.media.rac.co.uk

There has been a significant rise in the proportion of drivers who admit to speeding on 60mph rural roads where more deaths occur than on any other road type, new RAC data has found.

Nearly half (48%) of the 3,102 drivers questioned for the RAC Report on Motoring say they have driven faster than the limit in the past year on these roads – up from 44% in 2021 and matching the highest figure ever seen by the RAC in 2016. Eight per cent confess to having done this frequently while 40% say they have done it occasionally on up to half of their journeys on these roads. In 2021 514 people were killed in a total of 11,827 collisions on 60mph non-built-up roads – a fatality rate of 4%, which is higher than on motorways.

The percentage who speed on urban roads has changed very little in the past 12 months with 40% of drivers saying they have exceeded the 30mph limit at least occasionally, compared to 41% in 2021, while 46% have broken the limit on 20mph roads, a figure unchanged on the year before. The most common reason drivers give for exceeding the limit is that they are travelling at the same speed as other motorists.