The Department for Transport has launched a long-awaited consultation on its plans to update the 2013 Safety at Street Works and Road Works code of practice, otherwise known as 'the Red Book'.
The draft code, which can be found here, provides would-be statutory guidance on the signing, lighting and guarding of street and road works on public roads and highways to help protect workers, road users and pedestrians.
The DfT said the updated code includes key changes to:
- maintaining safe and accessible pedestrian routes around works – including minimum footway widths, the length of restricted widths and improved standards for temporary walkways
- managing cycle routes affected by works, including updated guidance and a clearer hierarchy of options
- the introduction of new definitions for ‘hard' and ‘soft' closures,
- strengthened requirements to support disabled people and other vulnerable road users
- updated diagrams and technical content to support clearer understanding, including how signs and layouts are presented
- expanded and updated guidance on mobile and short duration works and on working near level crossings and tramways
- changes to the language used in the code, to ensure that it more accurately reflects underlying legal duties and the distinction between mandatory requirements and advisory guidance.
Supported by Arup and AECOM, the re-drafting of the code has been protracted and at times hotly debated. Highways reported in 2024 that sources close to the process had expected a draft version to be put out to consultation that year.
The new draft has been developed jointly by the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland, the Welsh Government and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
Work on the new draft has also been shaped by representatives from the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) safety working group, which 'recommended a number of the proposed changes that we are seeking views on', DfT officials said.
The consultants advised on wider updates needed to reflect current health and safety legislation, inclusive mobility, the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) and Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual.
