I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Drivers should be retested on the HC in order to retain their license.
**AND**
When you get your MOT reminder, the DVLA include the changes to the HC.
“Should not cut across cyclists or horse riders going ahead when turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, to prevent “left hook” collisions.”
Could someone please explain this one to me? It’s not exactly clear and I don’t want to hurt someone.
Not surprising.
First time I saw anything about it was a topic here about a week ago.
If only there was something that a national newspaper could do to raise awareness of them..
If it wasn’t for this subreddit I never would have found out.
*Should open car doors using the “Dutch reach” method, with the hand on the opposite side to the door they are opening. This makes drivers turn their heads to look over their shoulders and reduces the likelihood of “dooring” a passing cyclist.*
I just assumed this was already part of the highway code through “careful and considerate” and “due care” parts of it.
Overtaking and cutting up a car is a prick move, so why would you do it to cyclists etc.
For anyone who’s not done it, the IAM Roadsmart course is really good for additional training and offers discounts for some age groups.
(Checking my blindspot by turning my head as well as checking my mirrors has saved me several times from accidents also).
While this is no surprise, I doubt much would change even if everyone was aware. Went out for a short (literally 10 mile round trip) drive today, and encountered one person pulling out Infront of me on an A road (enough to touch the brakes, didn’t have to do an emergency stop), one person completely ignore who had right of way at a roundabout (ironically enough pulling out in front of the car that pulled out in front of me), one articulated lorry completely ignoring a red light (they went through a good two seconds after it turned red), and a car doing 50 on a national speed limit dual carriageway – not a problem while they were in the left lane, more of a problem when they inexplicably decided they needed to be in the right-hand lane because…I genuinely don’t know, there was no-one they were overtaking though, that’s for sure.
Point being, there’s enough drivers out there who are incapable of sticking to the existing laws to mean that as a pedestrian there’s no way I’m expecting them to be up to date on who has right of way when they’re turning in to the road. Me as a squishy human won’t come off well from that. There needs to be much more done to enforce driving standards for changes to get traction.
Might be a non-issue, but how many non-drivers are aware?
AFAIK the new rules give pedestrians right of way crossing the road. I fully support the changes, but I wonder how long until I end up in a Mexican standoff holding up traffic whilst I wait for someone to cross, who in turn is waiting for the traffic to clear to then cross.
Some will lead to accidents and deaths: now it gives priority to pedestrians crossing roads at junctions [here](https://i.imgur.com/GTbu7yk.jpg) instead of cars, and this absolutely will lead to people innocently (or idiotically, probably glued to a phone) just stepping out as “we have priority” and getting run over.
(At least) Two in three drivers would be unable to tell you the correct speed limit for the vehicle they’re driving on a multiple (dual) lane carriageway with a National Speed Limit
They really should be actively promoting these new laws on main stream media. At the end of the day if a pedestrian walks out in front of a car “because they now have right of way” that ain’t going to help them when they get splattered because the motorist has no idea of the new law and isn’t expecting it.
They do tell you about any changes on the speed awareness course..you need to be caught speeding to know the rules…it’s crazy
1. Not surprised, most people don’t have a clue about driving anyway.
2. I thought that was the case already
To be fair the only place I’ve seen this mentioned is Reddit.
Hands up who was always under the impression that pedestrians had right of way?
✋
There are highway code changes? This is the first I’ve heard of it.
Am I the only one who thought those were common sense and were already following them anyway? I’ve always thought it just being a careful and defensive driver practice NOT to cut off people by overtaking and then turning, giving way to pedestrians etc. Not every situation is the same but if people used their brains more and would be more considerate towards others, we’d have safer roads.
I’m aware of it due to this subreddit, but I only remember the general gist of don’t run over pedestrians/cyclists.
The changes can pretty much be summed up as ‘don’t drive like a fucking prick’
I’d imagine it’s by design; the government probably want to rake in some extra cash through fines. The less awareness the better for them.
I’ve driven 80 miles today, seen 3 cyclists go through red lights, 2 without lights on a dark fen road and one riding up the middle of the road, he was obviously drunk.
These planned changes are a load of shite anyway
Pedestrians having right of way just means twats will walk out with no warning
Cars have indicators, people dont
And 2 out of 3 reddit users have seen this same post at least twice
There is no channel for it ( like, I don’t know, mailing every licence holder)
Cyclist here.
I don’t think anyone gives a fuck. Not even alot of cyclists. The ones that do care are in the minority.
Everyday I get close passes. Everyday I get some sort of incident, I see, or what is caused by another car driver. I even see other cyclists just blow red lights, nearly knock people over. Just generally be a fucking arsehole. The riders that deliver food especially. I can probably count on one hand the cyclists that wear hi Viz reflective clothing and lights.
The rest are literally invisible cause they wear all black. I hate this time of year cause you can’t see fuck all. I’ve had alot of a near misses. But I try and be careful. I know pedestrians aren’t going to wear reflective clothing obviously so it makes it even more difficult, especially when it’s pisses it down and it pitch black.
I used to love cycling but I only commute work now on my bike. I don’t go out any more on it, I don’t go for bike rides anymore. I’ve completely lost my love for it and it’s become a chore and something that has to be done rather than something I get joy out of.
All thanks to everyone else being a dick. I’m not perfect and I’ve done stupid shit while on my bike but it’s just the daily crap, more than once, twice, three times.
The only way I’ve managed to stop being seriously injured or kille is because I have the mentality of “everyone is out to kill me” and that includes other cyclists.
Have I read this right, if a pedestrian is waiting to cross a road and your turning into it or coming out of it, you have to stop and let them cross whatever the circumstances?
Why would you need to know if they’re just planned?
Two in three UK drivers unaware of ~~planned~~ Highway Code ~~changes~~
FTFY
Tbf as many people on here are saying it’s very much a case of the government making basically no effort to communicate with the public about this.
Nevermind the changes, there’s already plenty of surveys which show the majority of drivers don’t know existing rules, such as dealing with lane closures, giving pedestrians priority, or what to expect of cyclists at junctions or in slow moving traffic.
Mandatory retesting of the theory test every 5 years, practical every 10 if you ask me.
” Should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which their vehicle is turning.”
Lol, as a pedestrian I always assumed I had this anyway.
So if I’m on a main road turning into a side road I’ve got to hold up traffic waiting for a pedestrian to cross? That just doesn’t make sense to me. I know they have priority if they’re already in the road obviously.
From comments I’ve seen, people are worryingly unaware of what the current rules are let alone the new ones.
Lol most drivers aren’t going to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross when turning at junctions, me included.
I’m a new driver and I had one instructor tell me that pedestrians waiting at islands have priority, and that I can fail if I don’t let them go.
If trained instructors are getting this wrong then what’s the chance that the hoi polloi will get it right?
36 comments
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Drivers should be retested on the HC in order to retain their license.
**AND**
When you get your MOT reminder, the DVLA include the changes to the HC.
“Should not cut across cyclists or horse riders going ahead when turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, to prevent “left hook” collisions.”
Could someone please explain this one to me? It’s not exactly clear and I don’t want to hurt someone.
Not surprising.
First time I saw anything about it was a topic here about a week ago.
If only there was something that a national newspaper could do to raise awareness of them..
If it wasn’t for this subreddit I never would have found out.
*Should open car doors using the “Dutch reach” method, with the hand on the opposite side to the door they are opening. This makes drivers turn their heads to look over their shoulders and reduces the likelihood of “dooring” a passing cyclist.*
[Video of this method](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-41201002) in case anyone else was as confused as I was.
I just assumed this was already part of the highway code through “careful and considerate” and “due care” parts of it.
Overtaking and cutting up a car is a prick move, so why would you do it to cyclists etc.
For anyone who’s not done it, the IAM Roadsmart course is really good for additional training and offers discounts for some age groups.
(Checking my blindspot by turning my head as well as checking my mirrors has saved me several times from accidents also).
While this is no surprise, I doubt much would change even if everyone was aware. Went out for a short (literally 10 mile round trip) drive today, and encountered one person pulling out Infront of me on an A road (enough to touch the brakes, didn’t have to do an emergency stop), one person completely ignore who had right of way at a roundabout (ironically enough pulling out in front of the car that pulled out in front of me), one articulated lorry completely ignoring a red light (they went through a good two seconds after it turned red), and a car doing 50 on a national speed limit dual carriageway – not a problem while they were in the left lane, more of a problem when they inexplicably decided they needed to be in the right-hand lane because…I genuinely don’t know, there was no-one they were overtaking though, that’s for sure.
Point being, there’s enough drivers out there who are incapable of sticking to the existing laws to mean that as a pedestrian there’s no way I’m expecting them to be up to date on who has right of way when they’re turning in to the road. Me as a squishy human won’t come off well from that. There needs to be much more done to enforce driving standards for changes to get traction.
Might be a non-issue, but how many non-drivers are aware?
AFAIK the new rules give pedestrians right of way crossing the road. I fully support the changes, but I wonder how long until I end up in a Mexican standoff holding up traffic whilst I wait for someone to cross, who in turn is waiting for the traffic to clear to then cross.
[Here are the three main changes to be aware of.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FH2tLiJXsAgJ9ys?format=jpg&name=large)
Some will lead to accidents and deaths: now it gives priority to pedestrians crossing roads at junctions [here](https://i.imgur.com/GTbu7yk.jpg) instead of cars, and this absolutely will lead to people innocently (or idiotically, probably glued to a phone) just stepping out as “we have priority” and getting run over.
(At least) Two in three drivers would be unable to tell you the correct speed limit for the vehicle they’re driving on a multiple (dual) lane carriageway with a National Speed Limit
They really should be actively promoting these new laws on main stream media. At the end of the day if a pedestrian walks out in front of a car “because they now have right of way” that ain’t going to help them when they get splattered because the motorist has no idea of the new law and isn’t expecting it.
They do tell you about any changes on the speed awareness course..you need to be caught speeding to know the rules…it’s crazy
1. Not surprised, most people don’t have a clue about driving anyway.
2. I thought that was the case already
To be fair the only place I’ve seen this mentioned is Reddit.
Hands up who was always under the impression that pedestrians had right of way?
✋
There are highway code changes? This is the first I’ve heard of it.
Am I the only one who thought those were common sense and were already following them anyway? I’ve always thought it just being a careful and defensive driver practice NOT to cut off people by overtaking and then turning, giving way to pedestrians etc. Not every situation is the same but if people used their brains more and would be more considerate towards others, we’d have safer roads.
I’m aware of it due to this subreddit, but I only remember the general gist of don’t run over pedestrians/cyclists.
The changes can pretty much be summed up as ‘don’t drive like a fucking prick’
I’d imagine it’s by design; the government probably want to rake in some extra cash through fines. The less awareness the better for them.
I’ve driven 80 miles today, seen 3 cyclists go through red lights, 2 without lights on a dark fen road and one riding up the middle of the road, he was obviously drunk.
These planned changes are a load of shite anyway
Pedestrians having right of way just means twats will walk out with no warning
Cars have indicators, people dont
And 2 out of 3 reddit users have seen this same post at least twice
There is no channel for it ( like, I don’t know, mailing every licence holder)
Cyclist here.
I don’t think anyone gives a fuck. Not even alot of cyclists. The ones that do care are in the minority.
Everyday I get close passes. Everyday I get some sort of incident, I see, or what is caused by another car driver. I even see other cyclists just blow red lights, nearly knock people over. Just generally be a fucking arsehole. The riders that deliver food especially. I can probably count on one hand the cyclists that wear hi Viz reflective clothing and lights.
The rest are literally invisible cause they wear all black. I hate this time of year cause you can’t see fuck all. I’ve had alot of a near misses. But I try and be careful. I know pedestrians aren’t going to wear reflective clothing obviously so it makes it even more difficult, especially when it’s pisses it down and it pitch black.
I used to love cycling but I only commute work now on my bike. I don’t go out any more on it, I don’t go for bike rides anymore. I’ve completely lost my love for it and it’s become a chore and something that has to be done rather than something I get joy out of.
All thanks to everyone else being a dick. I’m not perfect and I’ve done stupid shit while on my bike but it’s just the daily crap, more than once, twice, three times.
The only way I’ve managed to stop being seriously injured or kille is because I have the mentality of “everyone is out to kill me” and that includes other cyclists.
Have I read this right, if a pedestrian is waiting to cross a road and your turning into it or coming out of it, you have to stop and let them cross whatever the circumstances?
Why would you need to know if they’re just planned?
Two in three UK drivers unaware of ~~planned~~ Highway Code ~~changes~~
FTFY
Tbf as many people on here are saying it’s very much a case of the government making basically no effort to communicate with the public about this.
Nevermind the changes, there’s already plenty of surveys which show the majority of drivers don’t know existing rules, such as dealing with lane closures, giving pedestrians priority, or what to expect of cyclists at junctions or in slow moving traffic.
Mandatory retesting of the theory test every 5 years, practical every 10 if you ask me.
” Should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which their vehicle is turning.”
Lol, as a pedestrian I always assumed I had this anyway.
So if I’m on a main road turning into a side road I’ve got to hold up traffic waiting for a pedestrian to cross? That just doesn’t make sense to me. I know they have priority if they’re already in the road obviously.
From comments I’ve seen, people are worryingly unaware of what the current rules are let alone the new ones.
Lol most drivers aren’t going to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross when turning at junctions, me included.
I’m a new driver and I had one instructor tell me that pedestrians waiting at islands have priority, and that I can fail if I don’t let them go.
If trained instructors are getting this wrong then what’s the chance that the hoi polloi will get it right?
I dropped her after just one lesson.