New guidance says Britain’s current road lane dimensions are no longer suitable due to the safety risk to cyclists.
UK roads could be made narrower after new guidance on protecting cyclists was puiblished (Image: Getty)
Road lanes across the UK could be made narrower in an attempt to make them safer for cyclists. Motoring campaigners have expressed dismay over the revelation, warning it will only exacerbate traffic jams on Britain’s roads.
The Department of Transport has denied it is waging a war on motorists despite the backlash. The suggestion to reduce the width of lanes from 12ft to no more than 10ft 8in came as part of new official guidance published on the Government’s website. It said current lane dimensions are no longer suitable due to the safety risk to cyclists, reports say.
UK road lanes are currently 12ft wide (Image: Getty)
The guidance by Government agency Active Travel England (ATE) comes after a change to the Highway Code in 2022 which said drivers should have a gap of at least 5ft when overtaking cyclists.
The guidance, according to The Mail on Sunday which broke the story, said narrower roads would show motorists “there is not enough space to safely overtake cyclists”, as well as showing cyclists “that they need to ride more centrally”.
Alternatively, the guidance also suggests lanes could be expanded to at least 12ft 10 inch wide to help keep cyclists safe.
However, critics argue roads are more likely to shrink than be widened due to space constraints in UK towns and cities.
Brian Gregory, policy director at the Alliance of British Drivers, said the thought of narrowing lanes is “completely stupid”.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “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.”
The guidance is expected to be applied to future road building schemes, reports claim.
A Department for Transport spokesperson 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.”
