British Cycling have issued a video in which their policy advisor, Chris Boardman, urges people to sign the Turn The Corner petition that the organisation launched in partnership with British Cycling last November.
> Junction rule change could prevent left-hook danger, say campaigners
To date, more than 18,000 people have supported the petition, hosted on the British Cycling website, and which reads:
I support the introduction of a universal rule to give way when turning at junctions, to make them simpler and safer for people driving, cycling and walking.
In the video, Boardman explains that junctions are "the single most dangerous places for cyclists and pedestrians on our streets.
“Two thirds of all traffic accidents happen around junctions and it’s not difficult to see why.
“It’s no surprise that cycling is considered intimidating and often unappealing for those who just want to pop to the shops, or that parents such as myself are scared to let their kids cross the road.”
He says that the lack of a ‘universal’ rule to give way when turning to make junctions safer for vulnerable road users means that for people on bikes, "Britain’s junctions are twice as dangerous as those in Europe, where many countries already successfully employ a similar rule.
“I would urge all road users – regardless of whether they get around in cars, on bikes or on foot - to sign the petition to help us bring safer roads for all of us one step closer and to help make our villages and towns more civilised places, particularly for our older and younger generation.
“Guidance that compels us to treat each other as human beings not obstacles - who wouldn’t want that?”
On its website, British Cycling says: "The Highway Code has not been fully refreshed for nine years. It may be amended by the Secretary of State for Transport before being laid before Parliament."
The current holder of that cabinet post, Chris Grayling, could do with a refresher himself on the Highway Code, which makes it clear that cyclists are road users - a concept he struggled with earlier this month, and which resulted in Boardman inviting him on a bike ride in London to experience first-hand the issues bike riders encounter on a daily basis.
> Boardman: I'll show transport secretary Grayling what it really means to be a road user