Find out how we’re making roads safer in Hackney. We have resources for schools and guidance on personal powered transport and electric bikes.
For information on how to cycle safely in Hackney, visit Cycle training.
The Highway Code
All road users must understand the rules of the road. These can be found in the highway code. This does not only apply to car and motorcycle users.
The highway code is regularly updated. Make sure you understand the current law to avoid getting a fine.
Advice for parents and guardians
We provide crossings and school crossing patrols to help make your journey safer.
However, parents and guardians are responsible for making sure their children understand how to travel to school safely. This is true no matter the age or independence level of the child.
Our school crossing patrol officers help children cross the road safely.
You can find them in places where it’s difficult to cross the road around schools. This could be anywhere that is a direct route to a school. It doesn’t have to be outside a school.
We follow national rules to make our school crossing patrols as safe as possible. This is for the safety of school crossing patrol operators and for people who use the crossing.
Road safety for schools including learning resources
Learning resources for schools
We provide a series of age and curriculum-linked workshops for the early years foundation stage and key stage 1 to 4. Schools can request for us to adapt these to their specific needs.
Our workshop leaders have over 35 years of experience in teaching and road safety.
Workshops include:
basic pedestrian skills
independent travel
secondary transitions
collision investigation
All workshops are free to schools in Hackney. We designed them to cause as little extra work as possible for staff and can arrange them around your timetables.
All of our workshops can contribute to TfL’s Travel for life accreditation (formerly STARS).
Junior road safety officers (JRSO)
The JRSO scheme is a nationally recognised method of increasing road safety awareness within primary schools.
Schools in Hackney choose pupils from year 5 to focus on road safety issues. They encourage safer travel behaviour among their peers, parents and school staff. They also help to organise safer travel activities and campaigns at the school.
We train each junior road safety officer and provide free resources to help support their work. Our road safety officers also assist the JRSOs and their school coordinator when requested.
It’s flexible and you can design it around the priorities of your school. It also contributes towards theTfL STARS accreditation and Healthy Schools initiatives.
You can get a fine of up to £130 for parking on ‘keep clear’ marking outside schools during the signed operating hours.
We work with the schools, JRSOs, local police and our parking attendants to encourage motorists not to drop off or pick up children outside schools on the markings.
Tailor-made projects
We also support communities and schools with tailor-made personal projects.
Drivers aged 17 to 24 cause around a quarter of traffic collisions on UK roads every year.
We can deliver talks and workshops on driver safety and the law for pre-drivers, young drivers and passengers in secondary schools, 6th forms and colleges.
To organise pre-driver and young driver workshops, call 020 8356 7070.
The Driving Standards and Vehicle Agency supplies new young drivers with a copy of the FirstCar Young Driver’s Guide. This includes information on buying and owning a vehicle as well as tips and advice on learning to drive and being a new driver. It’s available at driving test centres across Hackney.
Free training courses from Transport for London (TfL)
TfL have launched a new suite of initiatives which are an enhanced package of measures to improve the quality and extent of training that riders receive.
They were created because motorcyclists are the most vulnerable road users in London. Motorcyclists make up 26 percent of people killed and seriously injured but only two percent of vehicle kilometres travelled on roads.
TfL offers a range of schemes to meet as diverse a range of rider needs as possible and to enable riders to complete a number of additional training courses.
There are four different target audiences the initiatives focus on:
new riders, particularly aged 16 to 25, excluding delivery riders
delivery riders
riders who travel to work or education using a low powered motorcycle (≤125cc)
experienced riders of higher powered motorcycles (>500cc)
It’s important to understand the laws around personal powered transport and electric bikes before you buy one.
Electric bikes
This includes electric hire bikes, such as Lime bikes.
To use an electric bike, riders must be over the age of 14.
The electric bike must:
have pedals
not have motor assistance that can make it go over 15.5 mph
have an output of no more than 250 watts (must be labelled)
Any bike that goes over this power or speed is legally a motorcycle. This means riders must:
have a licence
be insured
wear a helmet
Personal powered transport
It’s illegal to use personal powered transport on public land. This includes parks, roads and pavements. They can be used on private land with the permission of the landowner.
Personal powered transport is legally a motor vehicle. This means users can get a fine for not having a licence and insurance and have the vehicle impounded.
Types of personal powered transport includes:
electric scooters
hoverboards
skateboards
any other powered transport
To use legal hire electric scooters, you must hold at least a provisional driving licence.
Legal hire electric scooters are not currently approved in Hackney.