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ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

Employment Rights Bill - ACT and Bira answer your questions

28 Apr 2025

The Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to be in force this year and the new regulations will impact high street retailers up and down the country.
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ACT parent company Bira welcomes Chancellor's action on unfair trade practices

25 Apr 2025

ACT parent company Bira welcomes the Chancellor's announcement of plans to create a level playing field for British businesses against unfair international trade practices.
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ACT parent company Bira responds to Prime Minister's 'Bobbies on the Beat' plan

11 Apr 2025

Bira has cautiously welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement this week on plans to put 'thousands of Bobbies back on the Beat' with a new neighbourhood policing guarantee.
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ACT parent company Bira warns of 'Atrocious April' as shop price inflation rises

1 Apr 2025

Bira has voiced serious concerns over the latest figures from the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index for March 2025.
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ACT parent company Bira says Spring Statement fails to address high street crisis

26 Mar 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said the Chancellor's Spring Statement delivered today has failed to address the "perfect storm" of cost pressures facing independent retailers across the UK,... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira outlines key priorities ahead of Spring Budget

25 Mar 2025

ACT parent company Bira has outlined its key priorities ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Budget statement.
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Bristol-based cycling charity Life Cycle now offering Cytech training courses

20 Mar 2025

Cytech, the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle mechanics, have partnered with Bristol-based charity Life Cycle to offer a range of bicycle mechanic... Read more…

High street 'death knell' – indie retailers, including cycle shops, shutting doors ahead of April tax rises

12 Mar 2025

Towns and cities across Britain are already seeing a wave of closures as independent businesses shut their doors ahead of April’s triple tax burden, including those in the cycling retail... Read more…

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Majority of drivers unaware of Highway Code changes intended to protect cyclists & pedestrians.

Posted on in Cycles News

A new YouGov survey has found that 60% of drivers remain unfamiliar with last year’s Highway Code updates, which were intended to improve the safety of vulnerable road users in the UK.

Highway Code logo

The changes introduced a “Hierarchy of Road Users”, giving pedestrians, as the most vulnerable, followed, by cyclists, priority over motorists.

YouGov poll surveyed 2,168 adults on behalf of charity Cycling UK. 60% of respondents said they knew either “not very much” or “nothing at all” about the Highway Code updates. Of those who were aware, only 28% correctly responded to the question “how much space should a driver leave when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph?”

This comes at a time when a separate survey found that only a fraction of cyclists believe that road conditions have improved in the year since the Highway Code changes were introduced. Just 18% of UK cyclists believe they have made a positive difference to road safety. Around one in 10 said that junctions have felt more dangerous, while a further 70% said they hadn’t noticed a difference at all.

Cyclists received fresh guidance to ride in the centre of a lane on quieter roads, in slower-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions to make themselves as clearly visible as possible. They were also reminded they can ride two abreast, as has always been the case and which can be safer in large groups or with children. However, they must be aware of drivers behind them and allow them to overtake if it is safe to do so.

Just one-fifth of the cyclists polled by Cycleplan said they feel safe cycling on UK roads, while 32% have had, or nearly had, an accident in the last 12 months.

When asked whether they feel that cycling safety is taken seriously enough by legislative bodies, just one in 10 agreed that the UK Government makes this a priority. A further 12% agreed that their local council takes cycling safety seriously.

This could have an impact on the Government’s 2025 cycling targets with  just 14% of UK cyclists saying they would be happy for a family member to commute to work or school by bike and would prefer to use a car instead.

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