Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she will take through the Road Safety Strategy to raise awareness among motorists of their responsibilities when passing pedestrians on roads with no footpaths.

My Department is developing our road safety strategy and we will set out more details in due course.

The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, including guidance on safe passing distances and speeds and the introduction of a hierarchy of road users. The advice on safe passing distances in Rule 163 says that motorists should “allow at least 2 metres of space and keep to a low speed when passing a pedestrian who is walking in the road (for example, where there is no pavement)”.

The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK! plays an important role in raising awareness of, and encouraging compliance with road safety legislation, including the changes to The Highway Code. THINK! ran campaigns to alert road users of the changes as they came into effect, and broader behaviour campaigns to encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Over £2.4 million has been spent on media to promote this campaign, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.

We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.