New Highway Code To Rule That Motorists Should Cede Priority To Pedestrians And Cyclists

Still from Cycling UK video showing how priority should be presumed for those traveling straight … [+] ahead. The motorist must therefore cede priority to both the pedestrian and cyclist.

Cycling UK

Motorists are to be officially relegated in the pecking order on Britain’s roads. Pedestrians will be at the top of a new road user hierarchy with motorists—who have the most potential to harm other road users—being told they now have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they pose to others.

This new hierarchy could have significant ramifications in future court cases involving motorists hitting cyclists and pedestrians.

The new Highway Code, subject to approval from parliament when MPs return from summer recess, will introduce strengthened pedestrian priority on sidewalks and when they are crossing or waiting to cross a road.

And in a revised rule that will be sure to garner “war on the motorist” headlines from the tabloid press the Highway Code will also stress that cyclists traveling straight ahead will have priority over motorists at junctions.

There will also be beefed-up guidance on how much space motorists must leave when overtaking cyclists.

The critical change, states the Department for Transport (DfT), will introduce Rule H1, a “hierarchy of responsibility.”

New hierarchy of priority on U.K. roads.

Cycling UK/composite

The hierarchy places pedestrians at the top and the heaviest and potentially most lethal road users at the bottom.

The hierarchy would be:

A DfT statement said “car drivers will be responsible for ensuring cyclists are safe, while cyclists will be responsible for looking out for pedestrians.”

The hierarchy, added the DfT, “does not remove the need for all road users to behave responsibly.”

Welcoming the changes, Stephen Edwards, interim chief executive of pedestrian organization Living Streets said: “Road users who have potential to cause the greatest harm should take the greatest share of responsibility to reduce the danger they pose. These proposed revisions will benefit us all.”

In the current Highway Code—first published in 1931—there’s a little-known rule that pedestrians have priority at junctions. Rule 170 states that motorists should give way to pedestrians “if they have started to cross.”

This states Rule 204 is because “the law recognizes that driving a car or motorbike always puts other people at risk and pedestrians are the most vulnerable of all road users.”

The proposed new rules for pedestrians significantly increase this presumption of priority.

It’s not yet clear whether the new Highway Code will fully clarify confusing rules over cyclists riding two abreast. The current rule—Rule 66—reads: “You should … never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.”

However, cyclists point out that corners of country lanes and narrow roads are some of the most dangerous places for drivers to overtake and cyclists moving to single file at this point may be risky for both parties.

Draft wording released last year stated the new rule would be “[cyclists’ should] ride in single file when drivers wish to overtake, and it is safe to let them do so. When riding in larger groups on narrow lanes, it is sometimes safer to ride two abreast.”

It is understood the “Dutch reach” method for opening car doors—a technique supposed to be taught to Dutch drivers—will also be included among the changes. The technique, which involves opening the door handle with the left hand, is said to prevent cyclists being hit by motorists opening car doors without looking over their shoulders.

The DfT consulted on changes to the Highway Code in 2020 after a decade with no revisions. The new Highway Code will apply in England, Scotland and Wales.

“The revisions to the Highway Code are very valuable,” stated transport planner Mark Strong, “but the key issue is how these will be communicated to existing road users.”

He added: “We know most drivers don’t read the Highway Code after they pass their tests. Unless the government sends information to all driving license holders and carries out a national PR campaign to reach other people, it is unlikely that there will be the desired effect.”