Code for Countryside Roads

Rural Road Safety Campaigning

In 2020 we launched our Rural Road Safety campaign in response to the disproportionate risk and tragic, avoidable loss of life on rural roads. The campaign was supported by The British Horse Society, British Cycling and THINK! - the UK Government’s road safety campaign. Its aim was to raise awareness of the unique hazards of rural roads among all road users to help reduce avoidable casualties.

Accidents on rural roads are around four times more likely to result in a fatality than on an urban one. Sadly, after a few years of decreasing fatalities, rural road deaths have increased to a four-year high, with over 1,000 people losing their lives on rural roads last year, and thousands more injured.

Our Rural Road Safety Report provides more detail on rural road safety figures and trends.

Code for Countryside Roads

We are continuing our work with experts and road users to help keep our countryside as safe as it can be. 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.

Rural Road Safety Guidance

To help road users navigate the unique hazards of rural roads, we have worked with our campaign partners to produce information on rural road safety. Click here to find out more.