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Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

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…

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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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