Wokingham Safer Roads

01/09/2026

🎒🚸 BACK TO SCHOOL — SLOW DOWN, STAY CALM & LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER

The summer holidays are coming to an end and the school run for many begins again.

For some children, this week could be a big milestone - their first journey to school independently. Walking, cycling or scooting without Mum/Dad/Guardians alongside them.

They’re still learning. They will make mistakes. They might be unpredictable.

So, this week, let’s all play our part.
👨‍👩‍👧 PARENTS/GUARDIANS - teach/reinforce them the basics:

🛑 STOP
👂 LISTEN
👀 LOOK - both ways, and keep looking.

Talk to them about parked cars and blind spots. Never step out from behind a vehicle without being able to see what's coming.

If they're getting off a bus, remind them to stop and look before crossing. Don't assume drivers have seen them just because they've seen the road.

🚗 DRIVERS - expect the unexpected
Children on bikes and scooters may wobble, change direction or suddenly move into your path.
Slow down around schools, residential roads, crossings and anywhere children are nearby.
Small people often cannot be seen over bonnets - check all surroundings when moving off from stationary. Put your phones away and just leave them alone, yes, even in stationary traffic.

And remember:

Speed limits are an absolute LIMIT - NOT A TARGET.
Just because the sign says 30 doesn't mean you should be doing 30 when children are close by. 20 is plenty and it saves lives.

Give yourself time and space to react.

🚧 ALLOW EXTRA TIME
The roads are likely to be busier than usual, and with the ongoing Thames Water works and congestion, journeys may take longer.

Leave a little earlier. Being late isn't a reason to drive aggressively or take risks.

🚫 DON'T PARK WHERE YOU SHOULDN'T
Don't stop on school zig-zags.
Don't park on double yellow lines.
Don't block pavements, crossings or sight lines.

That "quick" stop can force a child into the road or prevent other drivers from seeing them.

📯 AND PLEASE - DON'T USE YOUR HORN AS AN ANGER BUTTON.
A horn should be used to warn someone of danger, not to vent frustration because someone is holding you up.

Take a breath.
Be patient.
Be kind.
Be calm.

Everyone is trying to get somewhere.
And remember that the little eyes watching us are learning from what we do.
Be the road user your children and grandchildren deserve you to be.

🏫 Back to school. Back to basics. Back to being kind.
Slow down. Look out. Expect the unexpected. Get there safely. ❤️

21/08/2026

🚗 Speedwatch August update

Our Speedwatch team has grown, with four new volunteers joining the team. A big thank you to everyone who has given their time so far.

We’ve now run seven sessions across Charvil. At the most recent A4 session, 41 speeding violations were recorded, including 16 vehicles travelling at 50mph or above. We’ll be continuing to run sessions at all three locations, while working towards getting a second Old Bath Road location approved.

Could you spare a little time to join us? We’re looking for more volunteers to help us run more Speedwatch sessions across Charvil. Speedwatch is supported by Thames Valley Police and is a practical way to help tackle speeding and encourage safer driving locally. If you’re interested, please message us.

Read more in our August report:
https://charvilparishcouncil.gov.uk/speedwatchupdateaugust2026

19/08/2026

We've been called some delightful names this week all because we think it's great there is a safer route for children and families to use their bikes and walk around in Woodley, which was funded by Central Government's Active Travel Fund tranches 2 and 3.

We support safer roads and want everyone to get around safely and really cannot understand the anger and the inability to have sensible grown-up conversations around road safety. A lot of worrying comments clearly showing a significant lack of knowledge of the highway code and highlighting the importance of driver re-assesment training.

Do we not care about our grandchildren and children having safer options - there have been too many children knocked off their bikes across Wokingham this year and it cannot continue.

One of the most common complaints about cycle lanes and active travel schemes is: “Why are they making the road narrower?”

The simple answer is that roads are being designed for people, not just vehicles.

When pedestrians and cyclists share the street, the design needs to encourage drivers to travel at an appropriate speed and give people walking and cycling a safer, more comfortable space.

That can mean:

➡️ Narrower vehicle lanes - because wider, straighter lanes tend to encourage higher speeds.

➡️ Tighter junctions - so drivers naturally slow down when turning and pedestrians have a shorter distance to cross.

➡️ Raised crossings and continuous footways - making it clearer that pedestrians have priority when crossing side roads.

➡️ Protected cycle space - so people cycling aren't expected to compete directly with several tonnes of moving traffic.

This isn't about making driving impossible. It's about making the road environment safer for everyone.

And here's the bit that often gets missed:

Every child who can safely cycle to school in Woodley is potentially one less car on the road.

That's good news for people who have to drive. Fewer cars can mean less congestion, fewer cars to sit behind and more predictable journeys.

We drive cars too. We just don't think that being a driver means everyone else should have to design their lives around the needs of the car.

A road can accommodate cars and make space for people walking and cycling.

That's not anti-car.
It's pro-choice, pro-safety and pro-better streets. 👨🏻‍🦽👨🏻‍🦼🚶‍♀️🚴🏽‍♀️🚗

14/08/2026

Really pleasing to see that 841 people and 15 Parish Councils submitted over 2,000 proposals for safer streets. 👏🏻

Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport and Highways Cllr Adrian Betteridge said:
"It's fantastic to see so many residents and parish councils backing our plans to make Wokingham's roads safer by identifying their priorities for change.

"Road casualty figures for the borough are heading in the wrong direction, especially for people walking and on two wheels, and that's exactly why this Liberal Democrat administration has committed to a Vision Zero approach.

"Behind every figure is a person killed or seriously injured – life changing for them, their family and friends. We can't afford to be complacent about road safety, the status quo is not acceptable."

Find out more at the link in comments 👇

13/08/2026

11/08/2026

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists account for more than half (56%) of deaths and serious injuries on our roads - a disproportionately high figure when you consider the relatively small share of traffic they represent.

We fear this imbalance will only worsen as vehicles continue to become larger and heavier, effective local road enforcement diminishes, and a culture of motor-normativity continues to shape how we design, manage and use our roads.

Drastic change is needed.

The Department for Transport recently published the final road casualty statistics for 2025 - revealing that 29,918 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes in Britain last year, a 4% increase compared with 2024.

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists make up more than half (56%) of deaths and serious injuries, a disproportionately large number when factoring in their share of traffic.

This news brings into sharp focus that vulnerable road users deserve better protections when they travel, and that they pay the greatest price when collisions happen. For Road Safety Week 2026 we're shining a light on the roles of different road users, and how we must all work together to protect ourselves and those that we share the road with.

Although we each have a role to play, those with the potential to do the most harm have a greater responsibility to protect vulnerable road users. Throughout our November campaign, we will explore this issue, sharing important messages and highlighting active ways to make a difference.

Sign up now to take part in this campaign: www.brake.org.uk/road-safety-week

Read the full news story of the latest road casualty statistics here: https://www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/raising-awareness/our-current-projects/news-and-blogs/more-than-half-of-people-killed-or-seriously-injured-on-britains-roads-in-2025-were-pedestrians-motorcyclists-or-cyclists-as-brake-calls-to-protect-vulnerable-road-users-for-road-safety-wee

09/08/2026

Rovelo Creative spot on as always.

Quite a timely post too, given all the disappointing comments about the Woodley cycle lanes.

08/08/2026

👮🏼‍♀️🚔🚨 Another fantastic job by the Roads Policing team in Oxford. 👏

We’d love to see more of this in Wokingham... TVP Bracknell and Wokingham

The fact that drivers were being warned on Waze that police were present and were still caught committing offences - it really says something about the scale of the problem on our roads.

If drivers are prepared to use their phones, ignore road rules or drive dangerously when they know enforcement is taking place, imagine what’s happening when they think nobody is watching.

Also compare the number of motor driving offences captured versus the single e-scooter seized, it really highlights how much resource is wrongly being attributed to e-scooters. Let's start focussing on the 99%+ of road harm.

We need more enforcement operations consistently, across the borough.

Enforcement isn’t about demonising drivers. It’s about making our roads safer for everyone who uses them. 🚶🏼‍♀️🐎🚲🏍️🚗

30/07/2026

Sharing on behalf of the Road Safety Foundation:

Help shape safer journeys for neurodivergent children.

The Road Safety Foundation is carrying out an important research project funded by the Road Safety Trust to better understand how neurodivergent children of all ages and young people aged 16–24 experience roads and streets.

If you're a parent or carer of a neurodivergent child or young person, or a neurodivergent young person yourself, we'd love to hear from you.

We're also looking for parents/carers of neurotypical children and young people, as well as neurotypical young people themselves, to take part for comparison.

The survey takes just 10–15 minutes. Every response will help improve road safety and create more inclusive journeys.

Parents/carers of a neurodivergent child or young person: [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCPP6PD](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCPP6PD)

Neurodivergent young people aged 16–24: [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GM8CJB6](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GM8CJB6)

Neurotypical comparison groups:

Parents/carers of a neurotypical child or young person: [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCHZLSP](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCHZLSP)

Neurotypical young people aged 16–24: [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GMKDLD7](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GMKDLD7)

Thank you for helping create safer journeys for every child.

14/07/2026

Brilliant to see the publication of the new Active Travel Rural Design Guide, released earlier today.

Designing for walking, wheeling and cycling in rural areas comes with unique challenges, but it also presents huge opportunities to improve safety, accessibility and connectivity for local communities.

This new guide provides practical, evidence-based advice to help deliver high-quality infrastructure that works for everyone.

A valuable resource for planners, designers, engineers and decision-makers working to create healthier, safer and more sustainable rural places.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designing-accessible-rural-active-travel

Guidance on planning and designing walking, wheeling and cycling routes and facilities in rural areas.