UK’s roads set to shrink to stop drivers trying to overtake cyclists

Standard road lanes are unsafe for cyclists, and they should be either widened or narrowed, new government guidance has said.

In the past, road lanes have typically been 3.65m (12 ft), but analysis has shown that this raises the risk of collisions if cars try to overtake bikes.

A document published last week says that lanes should now be either narrower than 3.25m (10ft 8in) wide or wider than 3.9m (12ft 10in).

This is because in narrow lanes, drivers are more likely to realise they cannot overtake safely, while it is more clear to cyclists that they should ride in the middle of the lane.

In practice, given space constraints in towns and cities, it would be easier for roads to become more narrow – something not all drivers will be on board with, particularly as larger cars and SUVs become more common.

The Mail on Sunday reported that this advice is set to be applied to ‘billions of pounds’ of future road construction schemes, and any council who go against it risk losing funding for transport.

The document by Active Travel England says this is a ‘critical issue’, as riders risk ‘shunt’ or ‘clip’ collisions, where motor vehicles ‘come into conflict with cyclists from behind or from alongside respectively.’  

It says that even a 3.9m lane may not be wide enough for cars to safely pass, as they are supposed to give 1.5m clearance: ‘However, the risk of a collision from alongside is reduced at this width and beyond.’

They said that even on roads with cycle lanes, the same issue arose, if the combined total of the cycle lane and the car lane was less than 3.9m.

Pedestrian crossing islands also can inadvertently make roads less safe for drivers, as they reduce lane size in the small areas immediately next to then.

The document says: ‘To resolve this issue, it is recommended that lanes between 3.25m and 3.9m are avoided.

‘Where there are two opposing 3.65m lanes, a 3.25m lane and a 4.05m lane would resolve this issue, as would removing the center line.

‘This issue is commonly caused by the introduction of pedestrian refuge islands. In this case more formal crossings such as zebras or puffins may resolve the issue as they may not require the island.’

The recommendations are not legally binding, but seen as as good practice for future developments.

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