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Rural Road Safety

Making rural roads safer for everyone.

Our aim is to make rural roads a safer place to be for anyone who lives in, works in, or visits the countryside - from motorists, motorcyclists and agricultural vehicle drivers to horse riders, pedestrians and cyclists.

Sharing the road. Respecting others.

We’ve teamed up with The British Horse Society, British Cycling and THINK! - the UK Government’s road safety campaign – to try to reduce the risks for all rural road users.

To help road users navigate the unique hazards of rural roads, we have worked with our campaign partners and experts to produce guidance articles on rural road safety.

We are now campaigning for a Code for Countryside Roads, to bring together expert knowledge and advice to make rural roads safer for everyone.  To find out more about the Code for Countryside Roads campaign, click here.

Hierachy of road users

In January 2022, the Highway Code was amended to introduce a ‘hierarchy of road users’ where the greatest responsibility for protecting road users lies with those most likely to cause damage. The change also brought in rules to give vulnerable road users such as cyclists, horse riders, pedestrians and motorcyclists greater protection from motorists.

Despite this, the number of motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians who lost their lives on rural roads increased 5% in 2022, to 409.

Guidance and Advice

To help road users navigate the unique hazards of rural roads, we have worked with our partners to produce guidance articles on rural road safety.

Rural Road Safety Advice for Motorists

Understanding the different road conditions and hazards you may encounter is key, as is respecting the other road users you share your journey with.

Rural Road Safety Advice for Runners and Walkers

Exercising in the countryside can be exhilarating; the fresh air, peace and quiet and beautiful scenery can all help inspire you to keep moving and benefit your mental health too.

Rural Road Safety Advice for Cyclists

Over recent years, cycling has seen a surge in popularity, particularly during periods of local and national lockdowns, with quieter roads tempting many of us to dust of our bikes and take to the road.

Rural Road Safety Advice for Horse Riders

Most horse riders will need to ride on the road at some point, whether it’s to reach an off-road route or to connect one bridleway to another.

Rural Road Safety Advice for Tractors & Agricultural Vehicles

Over recent years, tractors have increased in power, size and speed and so it’s more important than ever that drivers take all reasonable steps to ensure that they are operating machinery in a safe manner, with due consideration for other rural road users.

Code for Countryside Roads

Our plan is to create a Code for Countryside Roads to bring together expert knowledge and advice to make rural roads safer for everyone. This will include feedback and advice from experts and groups to provide a clear guide to how people should use rural roads. We invite customers, members of the public and experts to get in touch with us to contribute to the Code for Countryside Roads document and we hope that once published, this will help steer a course towards safer rural roads for all road users.

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