This Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of the
much-discussed changes to the Highway Code – where did that year go? – and
a new study has found that in the twelve months since the updates, just 18
percent of cyclists believe that they have made a positive difference to
road safety, while just under half of the respondents weren’t even aware
that the changes had been introduced.

The long-awaited changes to the Highway Code, implemented on 29 January
2022 in the midst of great consternation within the national press,
included amongst other things the introduction of a hierarchy of road users
aimed at protecting the most vulnerable, and drivers being advised to give
cyclists a minimum of 1.5 metres of space when overtaking.

Communication of the changes left a lot to be desired, however, with the
Department for Transport (DfT) waiting until July to launch its road safety
campaign promoting the updates – leaving the new Highway Code to fall
victim to swathes of misinformation (often perpetuated by the mainstream
media) or plain ignorance.

In September, an AA poll found that, of the 13,327 members it surveyed,
8,090 (61 percent) said they had not read the changes. Of the 8,090 not to
have read the new rules, 6,972 (52 percent) said they were aware of the
changes but had not read them, while 1,118 (eight percent) were completely
unaware of them.

A recent poll by cycling insurance specialist Cycleplan (link is external),
however, indicates that ignorance of the new changes is as equally, if not
more, prevalent amongst cyclists.

The company’s recent survey of 1,000 “regular” cyclists on the Highway Code
changes found that 48 percent were not aware that the changes had been
introduced (a similar figure to when the insurer carried out the same poll
in early 2022).

According to the study, the changes – if they’ve even been read at all –
haven’t led to a safer and more harmonious environment on the roads.

When asked whether they had noticed a difference in road safety at
junctions over the last 12 months, only 18 percent of cyclists said that
they felt safer. 12 percent claimed that junctions have felt even more
dangerous since the Highway Code was updated, while 70 percent said that
they haven’t noticed a difference.

Just one-fifth of the cyclists polled said they feel safe cycling on UK
roads, while 32 percent claimed to have been involved, or nearly involved,
in a collision with a motorist in the last 12 months.

Finally, when asked about how seriously national and local governments are
taking road safety, just one in ten cyclists believe that the UK government
has made safe cycling a priority, while only 12 percent agreed that their
local council is working hard to make the roads safer for people on bikes.

https://road.cc/content/news/highway-code-18-percent-think-road-safety-has-improved-298887

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Spike