Government invests £214 million in cycle safety

The Cycling Ambition Cities Programme – which has been granted £114 million over the next three years – supports the acceleration of the development of local cycling networks, increased protection for cyclists at junction and traffic hot spots and helps to prevent accidents. Currently there are eight cities on board: Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Oxford.

Nationally, large goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are involved in approximately 15% of cyclist and 10% of pedestrian fatalities. CLOCS (Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety), a construction industry-led initiative set up to protect vulnerable road users, is keen to encourage the regions covered under the Cycling Ambition scheme to implement the same initiatives that are already working well in the London Boroughs, including the delivery of commercial ‘safe urban driver’ training, commitment to the CLOCS Standard and FORS accreditation.

CLOCS is an industry-supported, TfL-backed initiative, which came about as a result of the report of the same name published in 2013, which made a number of recommendations on how road accidents between members of the construction industry and vulnerable road users might be reduced. It is aiming for national reach via the roll out of a consistent standard for managing work-related road safety.

Jerry McLaughlin, director, Economics and Public Affairs of the Mineral Products Association, a CLOCS Champion organisation, said: "We really welcome this new funding and applaud the Government for the importance they are giving to this issue. Tragically, a disproportionate number of accidents which result in the death of a cyclist continue to involve vehicles from the construction logistics sector. The construction industry is working hard to improve road safety through the CLOCS initiative and the Cycling Ambition Cities Programme is increasing awareness of what is sometimes perceived as a London-centric issue across the country. All road users have a responsibility to help improve safety and hopefully we can all work together to ensure that these issues are addressed within plans for improving cycling and local road safety.

"The Cycling Ambition Cities Programme is a brilliant scheme which is increasing awareness of what is sometimes perceived as a London-centric issue across the country. The figures show how big a problem accidents with large vehicle road users are for cyclists and pedestrians and we hope they will work with us to ensure this vital factor is addressed in any plans for improving local road safety.”