In this guest article, Simon Bradshaw, Cycling Road Safety Manager at Cycling Scotland, Scotland’s national cycling charity, discuss efforts to make the roads safer for vulnerable road users.

More of us are enjoying the benefits of active travel, making more journeys cycling, walking or wheeling. The last decade saw a 31 per cent increase in pedal cycle traffic in Scotland. This is, of course, good news but people cycling continue to be disproportionately over-represented in road casualty data, and more needs to be done to address the risks posed to vulnerable road users, in line with Scotland’s Road Safety Framework casualty reduction targets for 2030.
 

What the data shows

Scottish road safety data for the five-year period 2017-2021[1] shows that people walking or cycling accounted for 33 per cent of killed or seriously injured casualties, evidencing the risks posed to them by motorised traffic.
 
After cars, goods vehicles are the next most common vehicle type involved in fatal and serious collisions with people walking and cycling, accounting for 39 per cent of incidents which resulted in the death of a person cycling. This highlights the risks associated with fleet operations and occupational driving and as goods vehicles increase in size and weight then so does the risk. The blind spots in the design of Heavy Goods Vehicles are a significant factor in fatal and serious collisions but can be reduced through better design and safety features.
 
With twice as many work-related fatalities resulting from road collisions than workplace incidents[2], road use is consistently identified as the work activity most likely to cause harm.

The Hierarchy of Road Users in the Highway Code makes it clear that users of large vehicles bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to other, more vulnerable, road users such as people walking, wheeling or cycling.
 

Priority steps

There is clear evidence that developing a network of cycle lanes separate from motorised traffic is the top priority to support more people to cycle more safely. We must also reduce road danger for people cycling and this will help provide a safer environment for everyone. Engineering and education measures and operational regulations that are designed to raise the safety standards of goods vehicle fleet operators and drivers around our most at-risk road users, particularly in our towns and cities, can contribute to this.
 
Many fleet operators take their road safety obligations seriously and subscribe to voluntary accreditation schemes, such as the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS) and Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS), which set minimum standards across a range of safety issues. With regards to the safety of at-risk road users, this is done in two ways. Firstly, requirements for additional safety equipment to be fitted on vehicles, such as blind spot mirrors and sensors, help drivers to be aware of other road users. Secondly, vulnerable road user training raises drivers’ awareness of safety around people walking or cycling. These voluntary standards provide professional drivers with the awareness, skills and tools necessary to help reduce the risks they pose to people walking and cycling.
 

Incentivising operators to invest in safety is imperative

If we are to make further significant strides in reducing road casualties, then such standards must be common across both public and private sector fleets, but whilst they remain entirely voluntary then incentivising more operators to invest in better designed vehicles and enhanced safety measures is imperative. Procurement and planning processes provide an avenue to do this, by stipulating minimum safety requirements when awarding public supply chain and construction contracts or approving planning applications.
 
This is the approach Transport for London have taken in collaboration with local authorities, and their ground-breaking Work-Related Road Risk policy is driving up fleet standards and safety. In fact, some fleet operators in Scotland already subscribe to these standards in order to operate in London.
 
It is critical that we recognise such good practice and draw lessons from it to help make Scotland’s roads safer for all.
 

Find out more about Cycling Scotland at: https://cycling.scot