A landmark Highway Code rule introduced by the Department for Transport to help improve road safety two years ago is being ignored by more than two-fifths of drivers, a study has found.
A survey of almost 10,000 UK motorists found that 42 per cent were either unaware of the rule or had heard of it but thought it was untrue.
The AA now requires drivers to be reminded of the rule annually, for example when they receive notices about car tax renewals.
In January 2022, a landmark set of new rules was added to the Highway Code to improve road safety. However, two years later, more than two-fifths of drivers are either unaware of or unaware of them.
On January 29, 2022, the Highway Code was updated with a decisive update comprising a number of different regulations.
The headline that grabbed the most attention was the new “road user hierarchy” – a pyramid-like system that means drivers of vehicles that can cause the most harm have the greatest responsibility to look after those around them.
Basically, the bigger and heavier the vehicle you drive, the greater your responsibility to reduce risk.
This means that drivers of heavy goods vehicles, trucks and buses bear the greatest responsibility, followed by drivers of vans and minibuses, then drivers of cars and taxis, and then motorcyclists. Cyclists and horse riders also bear more responsibility than pedestrians.
The updated Highway Code includes the sentence: “Hierarchy does not eliminate the need for everyone to behave responsibly.”
The road user hierarchy is a pyramidal system of protection to keep the most vulnerable safe. Some 42% of UK motorists surveyed said they do not take it into account when driving.
Within the hierarchy rules is a set of instructions about who has priority when a motorist is turning at an intersection and a pedestrian is crossing, or waiting to cross, the street.
It establishes that in all cases it is the pedestrian who has the right of way over traffic, including cyclists, and drivers must wait and allow them to get to the other side.
However, it is worrying that Thirty per cent of drivers said they did not know whether such a rule existed, while 12 per cent thought the rule was untrue, the AA found when it surveyed 9,839 of its licensed members.
When the AA asked the same question in December 2021, a month before the changes were adopted, two-thirds (68 per cent) of motorists were unaware of the “hierarchy of responsibility” rules.
However, other regulations introduced at the same time were successfully withdrawn by motorists.
This graphic shows the new rules in the Highway Code to protect both cyclists and pedestrians as part of the pyramid scheme hierarchy of road user safety.
Some 85 per cent of respondents knew that drivers intending to turn left must allow cyclists to pass on the left before making the manoeuvre, while two in five knew that drivers must allow at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.
However, only half of drivers knew that the updated Code formally warned of situations where cyclists could ride two abreast in the centre of the lane.
Similarly, 56 per cent of drivers incorrectly believed that long-standing rules on when not to use the horn were adopted in 2022, along with 42 per cent who believed the national speed limit for towing a trailer or caravan was reduced to 50mph on a single carriageway.
Tim Rankin, managing director of AA Accident Assist, said: ‘While most drivers can remember important updates to the Highway Code, the landmark change that puts more responsibility on those behind the wheel remains unknown to many drivers.
‘Three in ten drivers admit that they have not looked at the Highway Code since passing their test. New drivers and those learning to drive will be the most informed about the update, but it is experienced drivers who should be contacted to make sure they are aware of the rules.
“It is vital that we continue to remind drivers of these changes, which can make our roads safer and reduce accidents.”
Rankin says the AA wants drivers to receive annual reminders of major Highway Code changes to emphasise the latest rules.
“Every year, millions of drivers receive reminders about taxes and driver’s license renewals,” he said.
‘This would be an ideal opportunity to inform everyone of the updated rules and keep the changes in mind.’
Does the road user hierarchy rule work? Government data shows that a quarter of all road deaths last year were pedestrians, the most vulnerable road users in the pyramid system
Does the road user hierarchy rule work?
Official figures suggest that the rule changes have done little to improve the safety of the most vulnerable road users: pedestrians.
He Government provisional statistics on traffic accidents in 2023 show that pedestrian deaths on British roads rose by 6 per cent year on year, from 385 to 407.
They are also 2 percent higher than a decade ago, even though new cars are equipped with a wealth of innovative technology to mitigate accidents involving pedestrians.
The data also shows that a quarter of all road accident deaths last year were pedestrians.
However, fewer cyclists (considered the second most vulnerable group of road users in the hierarchical system) died last year.
Last year, fatalities dropped from 91 to 84, a 7% reduction. Compared to a decade ago, cyclist deaths were significantly reduced by 23%.
The government’s provisional road accident statistics for 2023 show pedestrian deaths on Britain’s roads rose 6% year-on-year, from 385 to 407. However, cyclist deaths fell.
When the hierarchy of rules for road users was launched in January 2022, it sparked an angry reaction from some motorists who said cyclists were being given the right to take control of the road.
A report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in November warned that messages about changes to the Highway Code were not communicated effectively enough to encourage public engagement.
Earlier this year, the RAC found evidence that drivers were ignoring the historic rules.
The motoring group’s road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: ‘When they were initially introduced, we welcomed the significant changes to the Highway Code because they were intended to make roads much safer for the most vulnerable road users.
‘However, two years on, it is worrying to see that there is still so much uncertainty, with most drivers not stopping when they should to let people cross and therefore many pedestrians seeing no change in their safety at crossings.’
Dennis added: “Part of the reason may be that drivers simply don’t know the changes have been made, let alone the consequences of ignoring them.
‘Most drivers probably rarely consult the Highway Code once they have passed their tests, and that is where the problem could lie.
‘We urge drivers to carefully review the changes, either by visiting the Highway Code or RAC websites, or by picking up a printed copy.
We also urge the Government to make a further concerted effort to communicate the changes to all road users.
A DfT spokesperson said at the time: ‘All road users should feel safe using our roads, and that’s why we made sure changes to the Highway Code were directly informed by a public consultation with more than 20,000 responses.
‘To raise awareness of the changes, we have used our Think! campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the changes that have occurred over the past two years.’
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