Project is helping disabled adults travel more safely and independently
Foresight, a charity in north-east Lincolnshire, works to improve the quality of life of disabled people. With a £36,540 grant awarded in 2023, the charity has now completed a project designed to help disabled adults travel more safely and independently.
Working with peer beneficiaries and local road safety professionals, Foresight co-designed a walking and cycling training programme tailored for adults with learning disabilities. The project focused on building road safety knowledge, practical travel skills and confidence, helping participants become more independent in everyday journeys.
We spoke with Amy Dixon, Foresight’s Day Opportunities Manager, about the impact of the project…
Overall, what has the grant funding from The Road Safety Trust help you achieve with this project?
The funding enabled us to address a significant gap in road safety education by developing walking and cycling safety programmes specifically for adults with learning disabilities. Over two years, participants helped co-produce the courses, ensuring they were accessible, relevant and effective in building confidence, road safety awareness and independence.
What do you think were the key ingredients that made the programme so successful in building participants' confidence and independence?
Co-production was the biggest factor in the project's success. Participants shaped the content and delivery throughout the project, helping us understand what worked best. Practical learning in real-world situations, combined with a supportive environment where people could learn at their own pace, helped build both confidence and independence.
Several participants spoke about feeling more confident travelling on their own. Do you have any examples or stories that particularly demonstrate the difference the project has made to people's lives?
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was seeing participants put their new skills into practice and become more confident travelling independently. One participant stands out in particular. Before taking part in the programme, he lacked confidence cycling independently and was unsure about using local roads. Through the training, we worked with him to build both his road safety knowledge and confidence as a cyclist. We also helped him plan a route between home and our centre that avoided some of the busier roads and junctions he found intimidating. As a result, he now regularly cycles independently when the weather is good, demonstrating a significant increase in confidence, independence and willingness to travel on his own.
The project combined practical road safety training with wider independent travel skills. How important was that holistic approach in achieving the outcomes you've reported?
The holistic approach was essential. Road safety knowledge alone is not enough if someone lacks the confidence or practical skills to travel independently. By combining road safety with journey planning, decision-making and independent travel skills, participants were better able to apply what they learned in everyday situations.
What have you learned about delivering road safety education for people with learning disabilities that you think other organisations could benefit from?
We learned that co-production is vital. Involving people with learning disabilities from the outset results in more relevant and accessible training. We also found that practical, hands-on learning in real-world settings is often more effective than classroom-based approaches alone, particularly when building confidence and encouraging lasting behavioural change.
The report suggests strong potential for wider impact. How could the lessons from this project be applied in other areas of the country or with other groups of vulnerable road users?
The principles of co-production, accessibility and practical learning can be applied widely. Rather than adapting people to existing resources, programmes should be designed around users' needs. This approach could benefit other vulnerable road users and help organisations create more inclusive road safety education across the country.
Looking ahead, what are the next steps for the programme, and what opportunities do you see to build on the success achieved so far?
We want to share the learning from the project with road safety professionals, local authorities and learning disability organisations, while exploring opportunities to expand delivery. The project has demonstrated a clear need for accessible road safety education and provides a strong foundation for future development and wider impact.
For more on the findings of the Foresight project, please visit the dedicated project page.
17 June 2026