Britain’s roads to shrink so cars can 'no longer overtake cyclists' - The Mirror

Britain’s roads to shrink to stop drivers from overtaking cyclists, new guidance suggests. Some critics have labelled the move "completely stupid" and says "it's all about penalising motorists"

Our roads could become much narrower in order to stop drivers from overtaking cyclists.

It's easy to become frustrated when driving behind cyclists, we've all been there, but those frustrations could soon grow as the Government is looking to shrink road lanes to improve safety for cyclists. It suggests the narrower road width will make it clearer to drivers that they can’t overtake.

However some say it will make traffic jams worse on already clogged roads and cause more conflict between drivers and cyclists. It comes after a change to the Highway Code in 2022, which suggested drivers should leave a minimum of 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking at speeds up to 30mph and at least 2 metres (6.5 feet) is recommended at speeds of 30mph or above.

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What the new guidance says

The new guidance suggests that roads should be reduced to 3.25m or under, a new report from Active Travel England (ATE) revealed. ATE said narrowing the lanes will encourage cyclists to ride in the middle of the lanes.

ATE found that lanes between 3.25m and 3.90m wide have the highest risk of a crash. In the case of two opposing lanes of 3.65m, ATE said one should be widened and the other lane narrowed.

What critics say

Critics say space constraints in towns and cities mean they are far more likely to shrink. Narrower roads, the guidance says, would make it clearer to motorists 'there is not enough space to safely overtake cyclists', while also showing cyclists 'that they need to ride more centrally'.

Brian Gregory, policy director at the Alliance of British Drivers, told MailOnline : "If you slow everybody down to the speed of cycles on narrow roads that is a huge economic cost to the country in wasted time. The whole idea is just to make driving unpleasant instead of trying to get everybody to co-operate and work together to use roads safely. It's all about penalising motorists. It's completely stupid."

It comes after the width of 10 popular family car models has increased from 168cm when they were first launched to 180cm, according to research by Churchill Motor Insurance. While car parking spaces have largely remained the same.

The research highlighted that the Ford Fiesta's width has expanded from 155cm at its introduction to 174cm. Other examples of widening cars include the Vauxhall Corsa (up 24cm to 177cm), the Nissan Qashqai (up 6cm to 184cm) and the Hyundai Tucson (up 4cm to 187cm).

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: “There has never been legally binding standards for road widths and that remains the case.

“The Government is absolutely on the side of drivers. Over the past year alone, we invested an extra £500 million to help local authorities maintain their road networks, committed £1 billion to repair bridges, flyovers and tunnels, and gave the green light to over 30 road schemes to improve journeys across the country.”

While the ATE guidance is not legally binding, it is regarded as good practice and councils are expected to follow it.

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