Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Department expects (a) cycle training for children and (b) cycle awareness training for motorists to make towards the road safety strategy’s target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries among children by 70% by 2035; and how the Department will evaluate that contribution.

Cycle training has an important role in helping children develop the skills, understanding and confidence to cycle safely and responsibly. The Bikeability Trust, which administers cycle training in schools, has published an evaluation which found that 92% of riders report increased confidence cycling on roads and 91% report feeling safer after completing training.

Cycle awareness among motorists also supports the Road Safety Strategy’s wider “Safe System” approach, recognising that road safety depends on the actions of all road users.

Cycle training for children and cycle awareness for motorists are among the measures expected to contribute to the Strategy's target of reducing the number of children under 16 killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain by 70% by 2035. Progress on the targets within the Strategy will be overseen by the National Road Safety Board and supported by Safety Performance Indicators, including annual monitoring of the rate of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads per billion miles walked and cycled. We will continue to consider relevant evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions as the Strategy is implemented.