Highway Code revised: Cyclists given priority in new rules as drivers ordered to keep 1.5-metres distance when overtaking

26 comments

  1. Apart from the usual ‘click-bait’ headlines about this usually mentioning fines from smaller media outlets on social media, next to nothing as been communicated to the general public about these revisions on TV or radio. At least, that is how it appears to me anyway.

  3. Good rule changes for the most part, I cannot believe the insanity of some people overtaking cyclists on the road and how close they are (often so close the cyclist has to swerve left to not be clipped).

    Also, of course its safer side by side, more likely to be seen, you also take up a normal cars width so people overtaking dont get silly ideas like overtaking with on coming traffic. Not to forget of course its a shorter distance to overtake too.

    ​

    Would be nice for this to be made much more well known with forced news coverage.

  4. Honestly I’d rather the government chucked 10 billion on adding thousands of miles of cycle lanes across the country, connecting towns, cities, commuter areas etc.

    It would make cycling so much more convenient, safe, even fun.

  6. All I see here is more road rage.

    More instances due to poor investment in cycle lanes and promotion of cycling schemes.

    Instead, they’re happy to encourage more incidents of 20+ cars driving at 10mph around town one lane a side roads in rush hours etc as it will be impossible to overtake with how many cars will be coming the other way.

    More congestion,more cars pumping out more pollution, since cars travelling that slow are massively inefficient = poorer air quality for everyone that lives there.

    Or, we could prioritise building cycle lanes and cycle paths for cyclists to actually get places more safely snd improve the air pollution.

    Guess we’ll do the cheaper, short term solution then.

  7. It’s funny this is focused on cyclists when, if you read the actual changes, the clear impetus is to protect pedestrians. Cyclists are ordered to give way to pedestrians in cycle lanes, which they will hate.

  8. Thats fine. But have they seen country lanes? Must lanes where I live it would benimpossible to keep that distance.

    Can be as considerate as possible. But you’d just be slowly driving behind a bike for 4 miles if you were going to stick to 1.5 metres.

    I think it is pedestrians having rights of way when crossing that could catch more people out.

  9. So much misinformation on the changes from the press. It’s crazy. No *rules* have changed whatsoever. The *guidance* on how to be a safe and legally compliant driver has changed.

  10. Its a shame that lots of drivers and cyclists cannot get along.

    I frequently use both car and bike to get around and try to use my experience from both with some common sense to make things easier for whichever party needs it.

    A lot of car drivers do need to slow down and consider how they overtake, but in the same breath, there are a ridiculous amount of cyclists that seem to think red lights or give ways don’t apply to them. Only difference with a cyclist is when they fuck up and get taken out, it fucking hurts.

    We need a system which encourages good behaviour from both groups, which should be integrated into a society where everyone is more friendly to one another. But here we are.

  11. This will be a good thread to have a game of “cliche cycling myth bingo”. Let’s see how many we get, Road tax?, Cycling two-abreast? Running red lights? Not following the rules? High-vis?

    Edit: As Fineus pointed out: I need to be clear that the “myths” are the hilarious (and depressingly common) misconceptions that drivers make about these topics.

  12. Steve from Manchester nearly had a heart attack live on air about this earlier on LBC. The man needs some serious help!

  14. I cycled to work for a month before packing it in, getting killed nearly daily and the abuse and short sightedness of drivers was shocking

  15. Time to buy a go pro for the bike. I’m fed up of people breaking the current rules, and these new ones are going to cause lots of car brain ragers.

    If the council paid me to report bad driving I could retire on an hours work a day. Throw in illegal parking and I’d have bezos levels of income.

    I really don’t know why there isn’t a government scheme like this tbh. Surely a convenient place to upload footage footage and maybe claim a small reward if it’s useful footage, would receive a huge amount of traffick.

  16. I’m still waiting for drivers to stick to the speed limit and put their phones down. Nothing is going to change

    I hope drivers give way to me when I have to step into the road to get around a car parked across the pavement

  19. This seems laughably unenforceable. Just reeks of the government introducing legislation without doing any fundamental change to our road layouts that would *actually* make cycling safer.

  22. If I can encourage you all to watch [this](https://youtu.be/rvHA4wNnYC4). It explains these are guidelines and also explains the pros and cons of the changes. I’ve seen lots of summaries on this subject, but this is one of the best.

    Edit: to the person who downvoted me? Why?

  24. 1.5 metres, they need to do ads to help me understand what that means. Sounds like I have to fully go into the other lane like if I was overtaking a car.

  26. New regulations are all well and good but everyone knows the reality. People want to get where they are going and don’t like being held up. Be it a bike, tractor, lorry, Doris in her Honda Jazz, it makes no difference, if the guy in front is significantly slower than the speed limit someone in is going to become frustrated and do a stupid dangerous manoeuvre. Cyclists are not perfect either, I’ve seen them do all sorts of stupid things. A bird shit on my windscreen so I put the washers on. The cyclist behind me got sprayed a bit so he kicked my car and started cycling off my bumper. If I was the road rage sort I could have fucked him right up with a simple tap of the breaks and blamed it on a cat in the road. Anyway…

    What we need is more cycling infrastructure. You should be able to cycle from one town to another without ever needing to go on a road. Think the camel trail in Cornwall. You can cycle from Bodmin to Padstow without going on a road at all.

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