A more accessible road network? Progress Report

Document summary

Currently 21 per cent (14.1 million) of people living in the UK report having a disability. Three per cent of all licensed vehicles in the UK are in the disabled tax class. Car travel remains the most popular form of transport among disabled adults and around a third of these journeys are made as a passenger. In November 2018, Transport Focus published An accessible road network? which made several recommendations following our research into the experiences of disabled road users. These recommendations were aimed at improving the experience of people travelling on England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads. Highways England subsequently announced the establishment of the Roads for All Forum which was launched to examine the recommendations in our report and develop other initiatives to make the road network more accessible for all. Since then, the Roads for All Forum has taken steps to address the recommendations we made. These centre on improving information about motorway and major ‘A’ road facilities and the assistance available to road users should they encounter difficulties. This will enable road users to plan their journeys better and travel with confidence. We also recommend that regular reviews be undertaken of facilities specifically for disabled people to ensure they are adequate and available to use. Transport Focus has been a member of the Highways England Roads for All Forum since its establishment in 2018. This report details the progress of the forum in implementing our recommendations, and developing some further, to improve the accessibility of the network.