UK roads to be made narrower so cars can’t overtake cyclists

Motoring groups have criticised the plans

Newly published guidance claims that the standard 12ft lane width is unsuitable due to the risk it poses to cyclists on the roads.

The standard lane width has been in place for neatly 150 years, but the government's latest rules say that road widths should be reduced to no more than 10ft 8in, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Alternatively, road widths could be widened to a minimum of 12ft 10in.

The guidance says that a narrower lane width would make it clear to drivers when there is not enough room to overtake cyclists.

It's claimed that the smaller roads would also make cyclists ride more centrally, further discouraging drivers to overtake.

The plans, which are drawn up by Active Travel England, would apply to future road-building projects, with local authorities that ignore the rules risking losing funding.

Motoring groups have been angered by the plans, with Brian Gregory of the Alliance of British Driver warning that they could cause a “huge economic cost to the country.”

"If you slow everybody down to the speed of cycles on narrow roads that is a huge economic cost to the country in wasted time," he told MailOnline.

"The whole idea is just to make driving unpleasant instead of trying to get everybody to co-operate and work together to use roads safely. It's all about penalising motorists. It's completely stupid."

The proposed changes come as the width of popular car models has increased from 168cm when they were first released to 180cm today, according to Churchill Motor Insurance.

A government spokesperson said of the plans: “There has never been legally binding standards for road widths and that remains the case.

“The Government is absolutely on the side of drivers. Over the past year alone, we invested an extra £500 million to help local authorities maintain their road networks, committed £1 billion to repair bridges, flyovers and tunnels, and gave the green light to over 30 road schemes to improve journeys across the country.”