More rural road fatalities in the East than on urban roads
A campaign has launched today (1 December) which aims to make rural roads safer
Fatalities on rural roads in the East were more than three times higher than on urban roads between 2018 and 2020.
That is according to analysis of official figures by NFU Mutual, which is launching its 'Respect Rural Roads' campaign today (1 December).
The aim is to make rural roads safer for everyone.
The Respect Rural Roads campaign is supported by the Department for Transport, British Cycling and the British Horse Society.
During the same period, there were more serious injuries (4,152) on rural roads in the East compared to urban roads (3,250).
Cycling has seen a surge in popularity, particularly during the national lockdown.
In the East of England the number of rural fatalities and seriously injured cyclists rose by 29% compared to 2019.
The analysis also found that in the East, the number of rural road cyclist fatalities fell to 13 in 2020, compared to 15 in 2019. However, it was significantly higher than the 5 fatalities in 2018.
On urban roads the number of cyclist fatalities was 3 in 2020, 2 in 2019 and 5 in 2018 there were 12 rural road cyclist fatalities in 2020, 8 in 2019 and 6 in 2018.
The number of cyclists seriously injured on rural roads in the East of England was higher in 2020 (134) compared 2019 (99) but slightly lower than the 137 in 2018.
For cyclists on urban roads in the East of England the serious injury numbers reached 209 in 2020, 289 in 2019 and 247 in 2018.
What do motorists think about safety on rural roads?
Independent research by NFU Mutual found:
15% of motorists living in rural areas nationally had been involved in a collision on a rural road (EE 11%)
90% believe road users need to understand how to behave and what to expect on rural roads (EE 88%)
60% felt the main cause of collisions on rural roads was motorists going too fast (EE 53%) with 14% believing narrow roads are the main cause (EE16%).
Motorists living in urban areas nationally were also asked for their views and experiences on using rural roads:
Nearly 30% (EE 30%) felt less confident about driving on rural roads and nearly 10% (EE 3%) felt much less confident
35% found negotiating narrow roads was the most challenging aspect of driving on rural roads, followed by drivers going too fast at 31%
37% felt drivers going too fast was the biggest problem followed by negotiating narrow roads at 36%
18% had been involved in a collision on a rural road (EE 10%) or almost 1 in 10.
Proposals to amend The Highway Code to improve the safety of vulnerable road users are currently going through Parliament and are expected to come into effect in January 2022.
Nick Turner, CEO of NFU Mutual said: "People’s safety is our main priority and we want to make rural roads as risk free as possible for everyone to use.
"A safety-first approach will help reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries and we hope our campaign to respect rural roads will help people stay safe and enjoy rural roads."
Meanwhile Roads Minister Baroness Vere added: "Campaigns like this are vital to ensuring people take extra care when travelling on rural roads, where collisions are more likely to happen than in urban areas.
"Safety is a top priority for the government and we will continue taking action to reduce the risk of collisions across the road network, including through our award-winning THINK! campaign, which challenges the behaviours and habits of high-risk drivers."
Nick Chamberlin, Policy Manager, British Cycling said: "The UK’s rural roads are one of our greatest assets.
"Thousands of miles of often ancient rights of way that criss-cross our country.
"Roads that connect rural communities to work and life, roads that enable millions of people to access the outdoors for their health and wellbeing.
"These precious rights of way have to be shared but it is vitally important that people cycling, walking or riding can enjoy them without fear.
"We welcome this campaign and look forward to working towards making rural roads safer for everyone who uses them."
While Alan Hiscox, Director of Safety at The British Horse Society said: "The BHS is dedicated to improving road safety for horse riders and other vulnerable road users.
"Through statistics we collated as part of our Dead Slow campaign, we know that equestrians experience high numbers of serious road incidents involving horses and vehicles.
"As the vast majority of these incidents occur on rural roads, we are pleased to support the NFU Mutual campaign to make rural roads safer for everyone and create awareness for all road users on this important issue."
Jade Devlin, Rural Roads Specialist for NFU Mutual added: "Independent research commissioned by NFU Mutual reported that for 86 per cent of people living in the East Midlands countryside, rural road safety is an important issue for them.
"By raising awareness of the issue, we hope everyone using country roads will respect their unique hazards and dangers, and that our guidance will help people to put safety first."