The UK’s Active Travel journey is not as smooth as it seems

Rebecca Morris, head of communications at RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims explains some of the dangers faced by walkers, wheelers and cyclists and how to address these

Active Travel has become a buzzphrase in recent years - widely used by local authorities, the government and the media alike. And rightly so.
    
We must make urgent changes to respond to the challenges of climate change, air pollution and public health, as a result of inactivity.   
    
We’re all being urged to leave our cars behind and opt for walking, wheeling or cycling instead.  
    
Active Travel is considered such a priority, that in 2022, a National Active Travel Commissioner role was created by the Government, and a number of Walking and Cycling Commissioners have been appointed in major cities across the UK.   
    
Research shows that Active Travel can decrease congestion, air and noise pollution, and is linked to health and economic benefits. We can protect the environment, keep fit and save money – what’s not to love? Sadly, quite a lot.  
    
In countries like the Netherlands, which have an abundance of off-road cycle tracks and footpaths, Active Travel has been embraced with open arms for many years.   
    
But in the UK, where we often have little choice but to walk, wheel or cycle alongside multi-tonne vehicles on the road network, it can feel like an intimidating and threatening place to be.  
    
And as we approach August - the height of the holiday season - and annual National Road Victim Month, even more of us are getting out, getting active and enjoying the warmer weather. At this time of year, the risks can feel even greater.  

A right to be safe  
In May, the Government announced that £200m will be invested into cycling and walking schemes, including 121 miles of new cycle track, 77 miles of new paths and greenways and initiatives to make streets safer around 130 schools.  
    
RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, welcomes these investments. But while this is an encouraging step, these changes do not go far enough, and will only benefit a small proportion of active travellers.   
    
Everybody has the right to be safe when they use the roads, however they choose to travel, and should be entitled to get home safely to their families at the end of each day.  
    
But disappointingly, many vulnerable road users do not feel safe. This fear and intimidation from road harm is a major barrier to choosing Active Travel.    
    
It has long been said that every driver should be a cyclist for a day, to understand just how threatened cyclists can feel when sharing the road with cars, vans and lorries, who are often oblivious to their vulnerability.
    
Parents feel this vulnerability too, as they cling tightly to their children’s hands on narrow pavements, unable to hear their chatter due to the noise from traffic. Dog walkers keep their pets close to them. And horse riders are on their guard, hoping that vehicles pass them slow and wide.  

It can feel like a relief, if we do make it home safely, that we made it in one piece. That we survived.   
    
But sadly, not everybody does make it home. In 2021, 128,209 people were reported killed or injured in road crashes in the UK. Of these reported deaths and injuries, 16,654 were pedestrians and 16,458 were cyclists.  

A right to drive?  
Many of the problems seem to stem from the sense of entitlement that can be felt all around us on the roads. We’re all busy. We’re all important. We’ve all got to be somewhere. Now.  
    
The larger the vehicle, the greater the risk. And, quite often, the greater the sense of entitlement.  
    
But whether we’re an HGV driver or a pedestrian, we have exactly the same right to use the roads.   
    
Driving is a privilege. Not a right. And it seems that this point has been largely missed by many.   
    
Perhaps it has a lot to do with how safe we feel, cocooned in our vehicles which seem to cater to our every need – climate control, Bluetooth, cushioned seats, cup holders and the latest sound system. In there, it’s all about ‘us.’   
    
But out there, on our roads, we are all equals, and we need to realise that it is our duty to behave in a way that keeps ourselves and others safe. At RoadPeace, we believe that those with the greater risk of causing harm have a greater responsibility to manage that risk.
    
Research has even shown that interventions designed to keep people safe can actually have the opposite effect. With an increased perception of safety, some people are more likely to take risks .  
    
Human beings also possess a natural tendency to overestimate their likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate their likelihood of experiencing negative events.  
    
Known by psychologists as Optimism Bias, we’re more likely to think ‘It won’t happen to me.

I won’t be involved in a crash’ than ‘I’d better take great care today to ensure I keep myself safe.’
   
What’s stopping us?  
And if all that wasn’t enough, the biggest problem we face is how society perceives road collisions. Even though the majority of crashes are preventable, we largely continue to describe collisions as ‘accidents.’ But exceeding the speed limit, drinking and driving or using mobile phone behind the wheel – some of the leading contributory factors in road crashes – are far from accidental.   
    
Using the term accident is, as one RoadPeace member once described, “A description with an excuse embedded within it.” The phrase, “It was just an accident” serves both as a claim of innocence and as an exoneration.  
    
That is why RoadPeace is calling for the end of the language of denial in our long-standing campaign ‘Crash not Accident.’
    
Furthermore, road crime is not often treated as real crime. Far more people are killed annually on UK roads than through murder and terrorism combined, yet it is rarely taken as seriously by society, or by the judicial system.   
    
With limited police presence and predictable speed camera enforcement, drivers have little fear of detection if they do offend.   
    
And those that are prosecuted for motoring offences, scarcely receive a sentence that recognises the severity of their actions. So, is it any wonder that we see multiple people speeding, using handheld mobile phones at the wheel or driving in other dangerous ways, every day on our roads?  
    
If we compare the sentences received by dangerous drivers with those received by other offenders who have posed a risk to human life, there is a staggering disparity.  
    
For example, this man was rightly jailed for five years after he was found to be carrying a loaded gun in his backpack on his way to work. The court recognised the huge risk he posed to public safety and this was reflected in his sentence.
    
But in contrast, the man in this case, who arguably presented the same level of potential harm, if not more, because he actually used his lethal weapon – the two-tonne vehicle he was driving – avoided a jail sentence.  
    
He drove at speeds of up to 130mph for 25 minutes, fleeing police and forcing his way through traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding through a red light. He intentionally and persistently put so many lives at risk, and on sentencing him the judge said it was a ‘miracle that nobody was hurt during the shocking pursuit.’ Yet, he was sentenced to just 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 21 months, with 240 hours unpaid work.   
    
All this tells him and the other drivers reading the news report is: “It’s actually not so bad if you disregard the rules of the road. You might not get caught and even if you do, you won’t be properly punished. It’s probably worth taking the risk.”  

Policing our own roads
Mike van Erp, known on social media as Cycling Mikey, is a cyclist who uses a helmet camera to record footage of drivers behaving dangerously and flouting the rules of the road in London.
    
He regularly reports the offences to the police and later uploads the footage to his YouTube channel.
    
Mike said: “Cycling in London is mostly safe, but it often feels incredibly scary and dangerous. It certainly could be safer, which is why I do so much bad driving reporting.
    
“Some drivers have a sense of entitlement and are territorial about the roads, not wanting to share with pedestrians and cyclists. My use of cameras, and those of tens of thousands of others, is there to prevent this and to improve the standard of driving.
    
“Most of all, segregated cycle lanes increase safety and comfort for all road users, not just cyclists. Protected bike lanes have led to a drastic decline in fatalities.”
    
He added: “There’s very little traffic policing due to Government cuts, and the Government’s view is that road crime isn’t really a crime. Having third-party reporting is one way to turn the tide on that.  
    
“Many drivers in London are now really worried about drivers and cyclists with cameras reporting them. Last year there were almost 15,000 prosecutions started by the Met Police based on third-party reports. It’s clearly something the public really wants.”

Active Travel – a slow starter
Active Travel sounds incredibly positive on paper and many of us are eager to embrace the obvious benefits it brings to the environment. But unless our roads and our road users become significantly safer overnight, we are still a long way off.
    
People need to be safe, but more importantly, they need to feel safe. And currently, many people don’t.  
    
We have no choice but to use the roads, if we want to leave our homes. But we shouldn’t be living in fear when we do.
    
Right now, many people feel frightened, unheard and uncared for on the roads. We need to feel reassured that road crime is under control, before we are urged to expose ourselves and our families to the dangers posed by Active Travel. And sadly, with the significant cuts to roads policing and the lack of priority road harm receives by the Government, that could take some time.

RoadPeace provides information and support services to people bereaved or seriously injured in road crashes and engages in evidence-based policy and campaigning work to fight for justice for victims and reduce road danger.

To seek support, please call us on 0800 160 1069 or contact us via email at helpline@roadpeace.org