Majority of drivers unaware of Highway Code changes intended to protect cyclists & pedestrians.
Posted on in Cycles News
A new YouGov survey has found that 60% of drivers remain unfamiliar with last year’s Highway Code updates, which were intended to improve the safety of vulnerable road users in the UK.
The changes introduced a “Hierarchy of Road Users”, giving pedestrians, as the most vulnerable, followed, by cyclists, priority over motorists.
YouGov poll surveyed 2,168 adults on behalf of charity Cycling UK. 60% of respondents said they knew either “not very much” or “nothing at all” about the Highway Code updates. Of those who were aware, only 28% correctly responded to the question “how much space should a driver leave when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph?”
This comes at a time when a separate survey found that only a fraction of cyclists believe that road conditions have improved in the year since the Highway Code changes were introduced. Just 18% of UK cyclists believe they have made a positive difference to road safety. Around one in 10 said that junctions have felt more dangerous, while a further 70% said they hadn’t noticed a difference at all.
Cyclists received fresh guidance to ride in the centre of a lane on quieter roads, in slower-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions to make themselves as clearly visible as possible. They were also reminded they can ride two abreast, as has always been the case and which can be safer in large groups or with children. However, they must be aware of drivers behind them and allow them to overtake if it is safe to do so.
Just one-fifth of the cyclists polled by Cycleplan said they feel safe cycling on UK roads, while 32% have had, or nearly had, an accident in the last 12 months.
When asked whether they feel that cycling safety is taken seriously enough by legislative bodies, just one in 10 agreed that the UK Government makes this a priority. A further 12% agreed that their local council takes cycling safety seriously.
This could have an impact on the Government’s 2025 cycling targets with just 14% of UK cyclists saying they would be happy for a family member to commute to work or school by bike and would prefer to use a car instead.