NFU Mutual sets out plans for ‘Code for Countryside Roads’

23 January 2024

As part of its 2023 Rural Road Safety report , NFU Mutual has announced plans to create a Code for Countryside Roads ‘to bring together expert knowledge and advice to make rural roads safer for everyone’.

The report found that, in 2022, fatalities on roads rose back up to pre-pandemic levels with rural road deaths accounting for almost two thirds of all fatalities on roads – a total of 1,017.

Despite more incidents happening in urban areas, the fatality rates on rural roads is strikingly higher at 1 for every 31 accidents, compared to 1 for every 120 on urban roads.

When respondents were asked what their biggest rural road safety concerns were:

• 25% identified loose livestock or animals.
• 25% found vehicles, or slow-moving traffic were a concern.
• 28% cited mud and debris.
• 50% cited the impatience of drivers.

Blind corners, narrow or winding roads, and poor road quality topped the list of concerns overall.

The report also identified an upward trend in fatalities involving horses and their riders, finding them to be ‘significantly at risk on rural roads’. According to the latest figures from the BHS (British Horse Society), 69 horses were killed on the roads and 139 riders were injured in 2022, a 21% increase from 2021.