Taking action for safer country lanes
Rural roads are dangerous at the best of times. Add winter ice, and we know they can be lethal. The danger is not just for drivers at risk of a collision round a blind corner, but also walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
I’ve been campaigning to make our rural roads safer for everyone who uses them.
This week, I dropped into an event in Parliament hosted by Project EDWARD and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), along with the British Horse Society (BHS). Project EDWARD is managed by the Association for Road Management and advocates for safer roads.
At the event, I caught up with the Chief Constable of Sussex Police, Jo Shiner. Jo is the National Police Chief’s Council’s (NPCC) Lead for Roads Policing and a member of the Road Safety Trust’s Board of Trustees. Jo has done a lot of work to raise the importance of road safety and promote changes that can make our roads safer.
I also spoke to Ruth Purdie OBE from the Road Safety Trust about getting country lane safety into Speed Awareness Courses. According to the BHS it is more likely to be experienced drivers who are involved in incidents so this would be an effective way to target them. I recently raised this with Kent County Council and received the reply below. I have asked KCC to pass my suggestion to the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) and I will keep monitoring progress on this.
I have contacted Ministers about the awareness of their national THINK! campaign as worryingly more than half of the people who completed my survey had not heard of it. I have received the three responses below which I do not believe are satisfactory so will be pressing Ministers again on this in the New Year.
I will continue working with others to do everything possible to make our roads safer so we can all enjoy the pleasures and health benefits of getting out and about by foot, on bicycle or horseback in our beautiful countryside.
Report incidents to the Police
The Equine Community Police Volunteer division within Kent Police are working with the Police to improve the reporting and follow up procedures for those who report near misses or passing fast whilst out riding.
So, if you are involved in an incident, it is important to report it so it can form part of a bigger picture.
Report overgrown vegetation to KCC
People who took part in my survey said that while out walking, cycling or riding they came across overgrown vegetation. I took this up with KCC and they said people should report this on their website here:
If it is on private land their highway steward will attend to carry out an assessment and contact the landowner to request cutback.
With Chief Constable of Sussex Police Jo Shiner (the National Police Chief’s Council’s (NPCC) Lead for Roads Policing and a member of the Road Safety Trust’s Board of Trustees)