Bikeability Trust welcomes launch of Government’s new Road Safety Strategy

Today, the Government has launched its first Road Safety Strategy in almost a decade, setting out a renewed national approach to reducing road danger across Great Britain. At the Bikeability Trust, we strongly welcome this focus and stand ready to support implementation.

The Strategy contains several important developments that are directly relevant to cycle training, road safety education, active travel and micromobility. We will be monitoring its progress closely and engaging with Government and partners to ensure education and prevention are central to delivery.

A renewed focus on danger reduction

While the Strategy places significant emphasis on data, design, technology and infrastructure, education and prevention are recognised as critical to reducing road danger. Two overarching national targets have been set:

• A 65% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) on roads in Great Britain by 2035, using a 2022–2024 baseline
• A 70% reduction in the number of children (under 16) killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain by 2035, using the same baseline

In 2024, 4–5 people a day were killed on our roads. These targets signal a welcome policy direction focused on danger reduction and rooted in the lived experiences of families who have lost loved ones to preventable road traffic incidents. Great Britain has lagged behind many nations for too long by failing to maintain a sustained focus on road safety.

Our own evidence already demonstrates Bikeability’s contribution to reducing road danger. Our work with TRL shows that higher levels of Bikeability Level 2 training can be statistically associated with lower KSIs, and our KSI report further evidences this impact.

Safety performance indicators linked to Bikeability

The Strategy introduces two safety performance indicators that directly relate to our work:

• The rate of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, measured per billion miles walked and cycled
• The estimated number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions involving someone driving or riding for work

We are also pleased to see Government adopting the recognised Safe Systems approach to road safety, which we have consistently called for. A new Road Safety Advisory Board will bring together experts from across the sector, and we will be advocating for representation on this group.

Key themes for Bikeability

1. Supporting road users: National Work-Related Road Safety Charter

The Strategy proposes a two-year pilot of a National Work-Related Road Safety Charter to support professional drivers and riders. Employers and engagers will be expected to ensure anyone driving or riding for work is as safe as possible on the roads.

Collisions involving people travelling for work account for a significant proportion of road deaths and serious injuries. It is estimated that around one in three UK road traffic fatalities involve someone driving or riding for work. With the rapid growth of delivery work in the gig economy, this is an urgent issue.

The proposed Charter will cover the use of HGVs, LGVs, cars, motorcycles, e-cycles and cycles, aiming to reduce work-related road risk and improve safety for all road users. It will be developed with business and industry, drawing on existing schemes such as:

• National Highways’ Driving for Better Business
• TfL’s meal and grocery delivery motorcycle road safety charter
• DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme
• The TyreSafe programme

The Charter will promote good practice and accountability, with success initially measured through organisational engagement, early safety impacts and culture change. If voluntary uptake proves insufficient, regulatory measures will be considered.

We strongly welcome the creation of the National Work-Related Road Safety Charter. We have already proposed revisions to the National Standard for Cycle Training to ensure that all types of cycles and journeys, including those undertaken for work, are governed by proven, high-quality training that builds a positive, safe and responsible road culture.

Through our work with Approved Driving Instructors via Cycle Savvy Driving, and the forthcoming launch of new National Standards-based e-learning for adults cycling for work and leisure, we are well placed to support this agenda. This training will help address inconsistent and inadequate provision, increase confidence for insurers and businesses, and lead to safer riding and fewer incidents.

National Standards must be robust, inclusive and future-proofed, covering all legal forms of cycle—from cargo bikes and dockless bikes to e-scooters and pedicabs.

We have also worked extensively with Deliveroo, where we continue to hold significant concerns around rider safety and risk-taking behaviours. We have proposed targeted training solutions and will continue to dedicate substantial development capacity to this area.

2. Supporting road users: Lifelong learning for road safety

The Strategy introduces a Lifelong Learning approach to road safety education—recognising that as road environments and technologies evolve, all road users need ongoing education throughout their lives.

Local authorities retain responsibility for road safety education and have a statutory duty to reduce and prevent collisions. While devolved governments have shown leadership, there is currently no official UK-wide guidance on delivering road safety education, nor a single coordinating body covering practice, research, intervention and evaluation.

To address this, Government will publish:

• National guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity
• A practical manual to support implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach

As the world’s largest Government-owned and funded road safety education programme, Bikeability has a significant role to play. We bring deep expertise in working with children and young people and embedding lifelong learning from an early age.

We are also shortly due to receive results from research into the longitudinal impact of Bikeability training, which will further inform this work. In addition, we will continue to advocate for the return of the DfT-owned Cycle Savvy Driving programme to strengthen adult road user education.

3. Supporting road users: Active travel

The Strategy recognises the importance of enabling more children and young people to walk and cycle safely to school. The forthcoming Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy 3 (CWIS3)—on whose stakeholder advisory group we sit—will be the key mechanism for setting objectives in this area.

Safe, high-quality infrastructure that meets design compliance standards is identified as a core component of active travel. The Strategy also acknowledges that recent Highway Code changes are not yet well understood, and that further education and investment are needed—an issue we have long raised and are keen to see addressed.

4. Taking advantage of technology: e-scooters and micromobility

New transport modes, such as e-scooters, are increasingly used for short urban journeys, offering flexible, low-emission alternatives to cars. However, their rapid uptake has raised unresolved questions around safety, regulation and infrastructure integration.

The Government’s e-scooter trials have generated valuable evidence, and their extension to May 2028, alongside the inclusion of new towns, will further strengthen the evidence base. Despite widespread use, e-scooters remain illegal by default as motor vehicles—a situation that has persisted for too long.

The Strategy commits to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility when parliamentary time allows, through a new Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicles (LZEV) Framework. This will enable a proportionate and agile approach to regulating vehicles such as e-scooters, pavement delivery robots and last-mile delivery vehicles, while allowing police to tackle irresponsible and anti-social use.

We have consistently called for training requirements for micromobility and for National Standards that include all legal cycle types and emerging modes. This will remain a key focus of our policy influencing work.

5. What the Strategy did not include

In our Safer Streets for All joint report with Living Streets, we recommended a range of measures to strengthen road safety. While many of our proposals are reflected in the Strategy, some notable omissions remain, including:

• Pavement parking
• A national default 20mph speed limit
• A dedicated routes-to-school fund

These issues may yet be addressed through other policy mechanisms.

Looking ahead

Overall, we strongly welcome the Government’s bold renewed focus on road safety and the ambition set out in the Strategy. The Bikeability Trust stands ready to support implementation and to ensure that education, training and lifelong learning play a central role in reducing road danger for everyone.

Read the full Road Safety Strategy here.