Highway Code changes

Good?
Bad?
Or so daft that they belong in the Made Me Laugh thread?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-changes-you-need-to-know-from-29-january-2022

 

I can't wait for this thread to develop into people who don't cycle slagging off cyclists.

 

Road tax does exist it’s just the disc that doesn’t

 

It does, though.

 

The only one I don't like is the stepping out at junctions one. I feel that is going to be dangerous.

I also feel this thread won't end well

 

Yes, that's the one I'm not sure about. Mind you, folk have been doing it to me for years, usually while wearing headphones. But I'm not convinced that giving them priority is the safest thing to do.

 

Disagree with that. It's all down to personal responsibility again isn't it.

One of the rules is that if someone is waiting to cross the road at a junction then the cars have to give way. That's a recipe for disaster because like it or not there are a lot of drivers who won't stop. They should but they won't. Either because they know they're in a big tin can so they're safe, because they don't know the law has changed (without being particularly well publicised) or because when coming round a corner they're focusing on everything else, in that gap in traffic etc.

Giving pedestrians licence to just step out into the road and assume that cars will stop for them will only end one way and that's with deaths. Under existing laws pedestrians know they have to wait for a gap. It inconveniences them but it keeps them safe. Under the new rules they, without any protection, can just step out. That's madness and will kill people.

 

Well I don't care what the highway code says, when I am a pedestrian at a junction, I will not be stepping out in front of any bloody cars and assuming they will stop. I value my life. I will wait for a suitable gap in traffic like I have always done, and like any sane person will do.

It's not just the concern about whether the car turning the corner will stop. The change in the highway code about giving way at junctions will cause no end of rear end shunts as the driver behind the vehicle turning doesn't slow because they fully expected the car in front of them to have completed the turn before they themselves reach the junction.

I think it is madness. Well meaning perhaps, but madness all the same.

 

Are you a sane thinking normal person? If so why link Brexit to things that aren’t linked at all to Brexit?

As for the laws I am on the fence. Whilst I think they needed changing, I’m not sure they’ll be safe. We wouldn’t change the law to give priority to cars who are changing lanes, as that would be dangerous…. So why is it less dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists?

The joke on made me laugh was a tongue in cheek comment on the laws. I thought it was humorous.

 

I’d like some clarity about the pedestrian crossing one:

Firstly, junctions with green men crossings. If someone is ‘waiting to cross’ and the man is showing red, should I be stopping on the main road?

What if someone is waiting to cross (traffic lighted or not) and I stop to let them but the traffic isn’t clear on the opposite side of the road to them? Should I be stopping on the main road until it clears? Or do I go as they can’t cross anyway? Is that my decision to make?

What about exits to roundabouts? What do I do if someone is crossing there?

What distance counts as ‘crossing at a junction’? Is it the same distance as not parking at a junction? If so (or not) I think it needs clarity and a definition.

This one’s not so much a question as a concern… this is one I experienced today but thankfully the people who could have crossed turned the other way… what about when turning right when it’s traffic light controlled? You know the scenario, where the light goes green but you can’t turn right as cars are coming straight on and you get a few seconds to turn as the light for the cars coming towards you goes red and about 2 cars manage to make the turning before the light for the cars exiting the junction you’re turning into goes green. What if pedestrians want to cross then? They’d normally be watching the lights and go when it’s not going to cause an issue but if they can walk out literally whenever they want, it’s going to block the whole junction.

They are genuine questions that I’d like advice on. I’m a stickler for rules and I don’t want to be accidentally breaking any.

 

I saw someone explaining the roundabout one and they said that you should stop on the roundabout to let them cross the road

 

To be fair, this is funnier than the one on made me laugh thread….

 

Crazy, ridiculous and will more cause fatalities because it’s not been thought through correctly! (Similar to the smart motorways!)

I for one won’t be teaching youngsters they have priority to step out in front of a moving vehicle! Look right, look left, if it’s safe to cross then do so! The green cross code always seemed to make better sense to protect you as a pedestrian!

 

That’s going to go well…

 

I think before making this the rule they should have painted a zebra crossing on every single junction to make it crystal clear.

 

Absolute bloody madness.

I don't understand the logic that pedestrians should have priority on a road. Roads are dangerous, they are full of fast moving cars, pedestrians should be aware of that danger and protect themselves by crossing when it is safe to do so or by using a designated crossing. Anyone who places their life in someone else's hands by crossing without thought for their own safety and assuming the traffic will stop is mad. I dont even do that at zebra crossings, I wait until I see evidence that the driver has seen me and is stopping.

In other more sane countries, the very notion of crossing a road anywhere other than at a designated crossing is frowned upon and is labelled as Jay walking.

 

That's always annoyed me about the parking one you mentioned earlier. You can't park near a junction but where exactly? I know it would cost money but they should paint markings showing where you can't park. Just a line jutting out into the road with an arrow on.

 

There’s a specific distance for that though - 10 metres. It does require you to eyeball it but it is a written rule.

 

The way I look at it is at football matches pedestrians act like they own the road and will just walk out in front of any car and the amount of bumps and near misses that has caused is insane. If that was at normal driving speed I would probably have witnessed about 500 deaths outside oakwell over the years and this is something they have just put into law