The PACTS working party event held on Wednesday 29th June was the first held in-person since 2019. It was great to attend and meet the other members of PACTS, after only ever meeting them virtually.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport (PACTS) promotes safe transport for all and these working groups provide an insight into research on different areas of road safety, so it is important that the BMF are involved to ensure that the views of motorcyclists are heard. Others in attendance included representatives from the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London (TfL) and the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators (ITAI) among many others.

The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) gave a presentation about updating the Manual for Streets, which provides guidance on how our streets should be designed. We raised concerns about the current lack of guidance on the use of light segregation devices, such as orcas and armadillos.

The topics for the Road User Behaviour working party meeting focussed largely on motorcycle safety. TfL presented statistics on casualties for riders in London, where there are high numbers of gig-economy workers using mopeds and smaller motorbikes to make deliveries. Proposals to enhance the CBT were consulted on 5 years ago and the BMF is minded to support the inclusion of these in the upcoming Transport Bill. We consider full digitisation of the CBT system should be a priority to enable better administration.

I look forward to following up with CIHT and TfL to see where this research goes. We already know that motorcycling is a great transport option in terms of cost, congestion and emissions (and enjoyment!) so we welcome the recognition of motorcyclists in the road safety context, especially as more vulnerable road users.

Written by Emily Rochester

Top image courtesy of PACTS