Using UK Roads as a Cyclist – Key Tips for Safety

Cycling has been a popular alternative form of travel for generations, but in recent years has seen a particular increase in popularity. This is in part due to increased national awareness of the environmental impact of driving cars, as well as the increased cost of running them. There has also been significant investment by the government in new cycle-friendly infrastructure, which has gone some way to incentivising more to hit UK roads.

Cycling has been a popular alternative form of travel for generations, but in recent years has seen a particular increase in popularity. This is in part due to increased national awareness of the environmental impact of driving cars, as well as the increased cost of running them. There has also been significant investment by the government in new cycle-friendly infrastructure, which has gone some way to incentivising more to hit UK roads.

Even with new, safer routes to cycle travel, cycling in the UK can be a potentially dangerous endeavour. By and large, cyclists are expected to share the road with motor vehicles – leading to the increased risk of accidents or incidents involving a vehicle. ‘Fear’ of the road, so to speak, is a driving reason for the reluctance to switch to cycling among many – making the understanding of safe ways to cycle all the more important. Here are some key factors to cycling safely, and tips for accommodating them.

Road Priority, and the New Highway Code

The government recently instituted updates to the Highway Code, which introduced and enshrined the concept of road priority. There is now a clear hierarchy for who should receive priority on the road, ordered according to their risk of injury. Pedestrians are at the top of the list, followed by cyclists and horseback riders; larger commercial vehicles like HGVs can be found at the bottom.

While these changes should make clear the responsibilities of road users to one another, they may have bred more confusion than clarity. According to a recent survey by National Accident Helpline, 73% of UK citizens are confused by the new rules. Four in five of those surveyed correctly identified pedestrians as the most vulnerable road users.

Road Positioning

Amongst the new rules are clarifications regarding a cyclist’s safest placement on UK roads. Before, conventional wisdom had cyclists as far to the left, near the kerb, as possible when cycling on roads. The new code suggests that cyclists instead cycle wherever is safest on the road – including the centre of the lane. Doing this ensures cyclists are visible and prevents unintentional side-swipes from vehicles, and can have minimal effect on traffic speed in urban areas. However, the same National Accident Helpline survey revealed that nearly three-quarters of respondents believed that cyclists have the right of way over cars. This is a belief that could put cyclists in more danger than following the letter of guidance and the principles of priority.

In Conclusion

The aforementioned survey found that a third of Brits found the changes to the Highway Code too hard to follow – raising the possibility that misreadings by both cyclists and motorists could lead to increased injuries. As such, the survey’s discovery that half of the respondents support a refresher test for motorists is perhaps an easily-understood one – and a useful solution for continuing to make roads safer for all users.