Road Safety and Active Travel to School

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD) [R]]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered road safety and supporting active travel to school.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I am pleased to introduce this topic, not least in my role as Lib Dem vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for cycling and walking.

Walking and cycling statistics published by the Department for Transport in 2023 show that children have been walking and cycling to school less and less, albeit that the latest data gives hope of a recovery. Figures from the UK national travel survey indicate that the number of children aged five to 15 who walk or cycle to school declined from 67% in 1975-76 to just 47% in 2023. Department for Transport figures suggest that only 3% of children cycle to school, while in London the school run contributes to one in four cars on urban roads at peak times, even in such a densely populated area.

However, half of children tell us that they want to cycle more. Many children already walk and wheel for part of their journey, but a third want to walk and wheel even more, and they need to feel safe in order to do so. During this debate, at least three people in the UK will be killed or seriously injured on our roads. For us as a society, that shocking level of road violence has become normalised, and we must do better.

Beyond the tragedy of injuries and fatalities, why does that matter? First, we all want cleaner air, more accessible streets and healthier children and adults. We also want to empower our children and adults and to create the choice to walk and cycle to school. Although some parents and children need to drive to school, we need to recognise that many would like to walk and cycle but are currently deprived of that choice and freedom.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I was recently privileged to be one of the first cyclists to use the newly opened section of the Curry Rivel Active Travel Group’s car-free path—a transport-free route along the A378, which is a really busy road. It benefits pupils at many of the local primary schools and the local academy. With half of local pupils ineligible for free secondary school transport, the path provides a safe space. Does my hon. Friend agree that investing in active travel routes is key to supporting safe and sustainable school journeys, particularly in rural areas?

[Olly Glover]

The example my hon. Friend gives from her constituency shows what dedicated infrastructure can achieve in getting more people walking and cycling.

What needs to change, and how? First, as my hon. Friend just said, infrastructure and street design are incredibly important. We know from countries with high rates of walking and cycling that safe and pleasant streets are essential. The majority of accidents in the UK involving those who are cycling occur at junctions, making those areas critical points for targeted interventions. Research consistently identifies the failure to look properly as the leading cause of road injuries among those who are cycling and other road users.

I would love to see infrastructure of the quality in Assen, Groningen, Utrecht or Rotterdam—or any other Dutch town or city, for that matter—everywhere in the UK, but there are things we can do in the meantime. In London, there is an example just down the road from this place, where Westminster’s pioneering of side street zebra crossings—zebra crossing markings without the cost of having flashing lights—is a great example of a simple, low-cost intervention. The evidence shows that those crossings are already saving lives and increasing people’s confidence in walking and cycling.