Pursuing road justice through cross-party advocacy

The process of attempting to influence policy is explored through the example of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking’s (APPGCW’s) inquiry on road justice, carried out in 2023. First the APPGCW is introduced, then the process of the inquiry briefly explained. To illustrate the practical business of developing recommendations as part of an inquiry, one potential recommendation is discussed in detail – the idea of basing penalties for traffic offences partly on the momentum of the vehicles involved. The rationale for such a policy is explained, then the practicalities and possible shortcomings examined. This discussion concludes with the reasoning behind opting not to make a recommendation along these lines. The paper then describes the inquiry report’s content and reception, and concludes with reflections on how reports of this kind are developed and whether they achieve their ends.