Choosing your vehicle

Choosing to walk or cycle is the active and sustainable choice which can help keep you fit and healthy. The more people who choose to get around this way, the fewer motor vehicles there will be on the roads and road safety will improve for everyone!

Getting around on foot or by bike also means that you are less likely to cause death or injury to others on the road, although you are at an increased risk yourself from other motorised forms of transport, as you lack the protection of a vehicle shell around you, if you're in a crash.

If you choose to drive to get around, your particular choice of car makes a huge difference to your safety, and the safety of other road users. For example, larger cars such as sports utility vehicles (SUVs, often referred to as 4x4s) cause much more damage if they hit someone. This is because SUVs are generally heavier and stiffer than normal cars, and therefore cause more damage on impact. They are also taller, which means that pedestrians hit by SUVs are more likely to suffer head or chest injuries, which are more likely to be fatal.

Large vehicles, like SUVs, also have bigger blind spots, so drivers are more likely to fail to see vulnerable road users, particularly children who are smaller and harder to spot.

Choosing to ride motorcycles means that you are much less likely, per mile travelled, to cause death or injury to other road users, than if you're in a car. However, because of the high speeds motorcycles can travel at, combined with the lack of protection in a crash, motorcycle riders face a comparatively high level of risk to their own safety on the roads. They are also at risk of other factors that cause crashes, such as drivers often not spotting motorcyclists at junctions.