Do you know about the changes to the Highway Code?

As both husband and I have an Audi, I best send off for our lanyards ???

Yep. Read about it a few weeks ago. Will take a bit getting used to.

Thanks for that. I've passed it onto friends and family who drive.

is this such a change, though.
it has never been legal to mow down pedestrians or cyclists.

Did read about this a while ago. I do disagree with people trying to cross a busy road, when actually there is a perfectly good pelican crossing a few yards away. Stopping suddenly because you have to let a pedestrian cross at a junction, the idiot behind you on his/ her phone,goes straight into the back of you. Also been the rule for years if someone is on the road you let them cross The car coming onto your side of the road, as happened today, because they can’t wait a few minutes to pass a cyclist until the road is clearer. Not sure it is going to alter peoples habits. How is it going to be policed.

What really annoys me is that when a cyclist suddenly cuts in front of you, it would be the driver’s fault if he was knocked down. Some of them seem to think they are immortal - or they have a death wish. I had to slam my brakes on recently to avoid one who seemingly suddenly decided to turn right (right across the front of my car!) with no indication. Inconsiderate cyclists make my blood boil!

I’ve always thought the Dutch Reach was the safest way to open your door.
We are used to the pedestrian rule as that’s the rule in Portugal where we have done a lot of driving.

The Highway code is a bit more than guidance and a bit less than law.
These changes seem to mean that the bigger vehicle will be deemed to be at fault in the event of an accident unless proved otherwise.
DH says he needs a dashcam now so that he has proof of needed.

I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of the Dutch reach. Will use it from now on.

Lincslass

Did read about this a while ago. I do disagree with people trying to cross a busy road, when actually there is a perfectly good pelican crossing a few yards away. Stopping suddenly because you have to let a pedestrian cross at a junction, the idiot behind you on his/ her phone,goes straight into the back of you. Also been the rule for years if someone is on the road you let them cross The car coming onto your side of the road, as happened today, because they can’t wait a few minutes to pass a cyclist until the road is clearer. Not sure it is going to alter peoples habits. How is it going to be policed.

The rule is changing to vehicles having to stop for people waiting on the pavement to cross at junctions and Zebra crossings.
It will be up to individuals to police. I expect mobile phone footage from pedestrians will be used to prosecute.

Inconsiderate and dangerous drivers, cyclists and pedestrians will still proliferate. My question was about the lack of communication about these changes. An email from the DVLA would've been a start.

Yes I do know and I think they are ill thought out. Too many cyclists are increasingly aggressive, and my main criticism of them is their unpredictability, swooping from road to pavement to crossing then back to the road, to avoid waiting for traffic lights. A fair few have taken to cycling the wrong way down one-way streets, or riding on the pavement as though it was part of the road.

Pittcity

I certainly didn't until I saw this tweet.

I then Googled and found that pedestrians and cyclists are going to be getting more consideration from drivers amongst other changes.

These changes come into force on 29th January.

It's about blimmin' time pedestrains got more consideration from drivers. The number of drivers who don't seem to know that pedestrians have right of way if they are walking along a main road and the driver is approaching it at a T-junction is astonishing.

I used to live in Cambridge. Full of cyclists with no idea of how to keep safe on the road - and don’t get me started on the summer influx of foreign students. How I didn’t kill any of them I’ll never know.

What gets me fizzing is the drivers who don't seem to consider pedestrians as fellow road-users and so don't think they need to use indicators to show which way they are going at a junction. It means that we have to wait to see if it is safe for us to cross. I am liable to point at the car and shout "Your indicator isn't working", but of course they never notice.

Baggs as a pedestrian I would always give way to the traffic even if I did have the right of way! You are not going to come out the winner in an argument with a car. Just play it safe and let the car go first. In my experience they always stop anyway and let me walk across the road, then you give them a polite little wave.

There seems to be a lot of 'road rage comments' here. I am cool about using the road. Whether you're a driver or a pedestrian just assume that everyone else are complete idiots and allow for that. They are going to do stupid things, so just expect it and be cool with it.

I’m always puzzled why so many pedestrian crossings are positioned so close to roundabouts.
Drivers are concentrating on negotiating their way round when all of a sudden they have to come to an abrupt stop.
I understand that it may be a convenient place to cross but I think it is quite dangerous.

Chestnut

Baggs as a pedestrian I would always give way to the traffic even if I did have the right of way! You are not going to come out the winner in an argument with a car. Just play it safe and let the car go first. In my experience they always stop anyway and let me walk across the road, then you give them a polite little wave.

That is certainly wise and what I do too but in my experience as often as not they do not let you cross first when they should.

The idea of me slowing the traffic on a main road because a pedestrian wants to cross the minor road I'm turning into sounds like a recipe for disaster.
But it's advisory not statutory apparently.

Pittcity

Lincslass

Did read about this a while ago. I do disagree with people trying to cross a busy road, when actually there is a perfectly good pelican crossing a few yards away. Stopping suddenly because you have to let a pedestrian cross at a junction, the idiot behind you on his/ her phone,goes straight into the back of you. Also been the rule for years if someone is on the road you let them cross The car coming onto your side of the road, as happened today, because they can’t wait a few minutes to pass a cyclist until the road is clearer. Not sure it is going to alter peoples habits. How is it going to be policed.

The rule is changing to vehicles having to stop for people waiting on the pavement to cross at junctions and Zebra crossings.
It will be up to individuals to police. I expect mobile phone footage from pedestrians will be used to prosecute.

Inconsiderate and dangerous drivers, cyclists and pedestrians will still proliferate. My question was about the lack of communication about these changes. An email from the DVLA would've been a start.

The news about these changes have been in the press since last year. I didn’t need an email from DVLA to learn about them.

I understand they’ve clarified how wide car drivers should go to pass horse riders. About time! Walkers, cyclists, horse riders, children and adults, share the roads and some car drivers have no idea how to pass them. One driver, having just driven into my friend’s horse on a narrow, quiet country road with good visibility, told me she wasn’t sure what to do so ploughed on and hoped for the best. Yes we need more regulation!

Pamela J1, I so agree with you about pedestrian crossings immediately after roundabouts. A very busy roundabout in my nearest town almost invariably has two of its exit/entrances blocked by such crossings, causing hold-ups all the way round the roundabout and consequently in both directions through the town. It requires pedestrians to cross at the widest parts of the road.

Just when you think you’ve finally negotiated the roundabout you’re faced with pedestrians trickling across the road while drivers behind you slam their brakes on and everything is once again at a standstill.

I am a pedestrian and a driver, and from both points of view this is a frustrating arrangement.

Don't know about horses but DSiL is a policeman and last October the Inspector marched in and said "Everyone who can cycle, take one of the bikes and cycle round the town for 30 minutes and book anyone who overtakes you passing less than an arm's length".

Even if they've read about them it probably won't make any difference. I'm quite amazed at the number of people I see driving around with dogs jumping around their cars or dogs sitting on the back seat with their heads out of the window, despite the fact the Highway Code says pets should be restrained in a car. They don't seem too fazed by the prospect of losing their insurance either if they have an accident.