Drivers say Highway Code changes to boost pedestrians’ safety have failed as fewer than a quarter of motorists follow new rule

Less than two in five (18 per cent) motorists believe changes made to the Highway Code in 2022 to improve safety for pedestrians has failed to work, a new survey suggests.

In fact, less than a quarter of drivers said they follow one of the rule changes that requires traffic to give way to pedestrians waiting at a crossing, a poll of 2,500 UK drivers commissioned by the RAC also indicated.

As such, almost a third (31 per cent) think pedestrians face even greater danger on our roads since the amendments were introduced two years ago to the day.

The Highway Code, which contains advice and rules for people using Britain’s roads, was amended by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 29 January 2022 to provide more protection for vulnerable road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists.

The wholesale update saw the introduction of 50 new rules across 9 separate sections of the motoring rule book.

A ‘hierarchy of road users’ rule was the headline-grabbing change: a pyramid-style scheme that means drivers of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm bear the most responsibility to take care of others around them.

Essentially, the bigger and heavier the vehicle you drive, the more responsibility you have to reduce risk.

It means HGV, truck and bus drivers have the most responsibility, followed by drivers of vans and minibuses, then cars and taxis, and next motorbike riders. Cyclists and horse riders also have more responsibility than pedestrians.

The Highway Code update includes the line: ‘The hierarchy does not remove the need for everyone to behave responsibly.’

And among the changes was a new rules around who has priority when a motorists is turning at a junction and a pedestrian is crossing – or waiting to cross – the road.

The new ruling states that in all instances it is the pedestrian who has the right of way over the traffic – including cyclists – and drivers should wait and allow them to get to the other side.

Yet very few of the 2,500 motorists polled by the RAC say they do this.

Less than a quarter (23 per cent) of respondents claimed to always give priority to pedestrians at junctions since the rule change, while a similar proportion (19 per cent) admitted they do not stop very often – and 6 per cent said they never give way to pedestrians in these scenarios.

Official figures suggest the rule changes have done very little to bolster pedestrian safety on Britain’s roads. 

The Government’s latest road casualty statistics (for the year 2022 that were published in September) show 30 per cent of pedestrian fatalities on Britain’s roads occur at junctions.

The figures also show that pedestrian casualties on our roads increased in 2022 – the year the Highway Code changes were introduced – compared to the year previous.

In 2021, 361 pedestrians were killed compared to 385 the following year – an increase of 7 per cent. 

That said, pedestrian deaths have decline by 8 per cent compared to a decade earlier, the stats show. 

Part of the hierarchy of road users model introduced in 2022 also included advice for cyclists to make themselves as visible as possible by riding in the centre of lanes on quieter roads, in slower-moving traffic and when approaching junctions.

Since the January 2022 changes, cyclists have been recommended to ride two-abreast when in groups, and drivers must leave at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) of space when overtaking cyclists at speeds up to 30mph – and even more if the driver is travelling faster than this.

The new rules triggered an angry backlash from some motorists who said cyclists were being given the right to take over the road.

A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee in November warned that messaging around Highway Code changes were not communicated effectively enough to encourage public participation.

The RAC poll also indicated that 37 per cent of drivers aged 17 to 24 think the amendments have made roads safer for vulnerable users, compared with just 13 per cent of those aged 65 and above.

RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: ‘When initially introduced, we welcomed the major Highway Code changes because they were set to make the roads much safer for the most vulnerable users.

‘However, two years on, it’s concerning to see there’s still so much uncertainty, with most drivers not stopping for people crossing when they should and therefore many pedestrians seeing no change to their safety at junctions.

‘Part of the reason may be that drivers simply don’t know that the changes have been made, least of all the consequences of ignoring them.

‘Most drivers probably rarely refer to the Highway Code once they’ve passed their tests, and that’s where the problem could lie.

‘We urge motorists to take another close look at the changes – either by visiting the Highway Code or RAC websites, or by picking up a printed copy.

‘We’d also urge the Government to make another concerted effort in communicating the changes to all road users.’

A DfT spokesman said: ‘All road users must feel confident using our roads which is why we made sure the changes to the Highway Code were directly informed by a public consultation with over 20,000 responses.

‘To increase awareness of the changes, we have used our Think! campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the changes over the last two years.’