Highway Code changes to be announced later this year, with improvements for walking and cycling…

[mjr]

I am hoping, but not with much confidence, that it might mean where a cycle lane running parallel to a road will have the same priority as the road which it runs parallel to; rather than the current set up where you have to give way at every driveway and minor street it crosses. Such as this:
View attachment 601698

Should become like this:

View attachment 601700

Personally, I still won't be trusting any car driver to do what they are supposed to do. I find that has served me well so far.

Examples such as the one in the photo would be a bit better than the diagram because a turning car has space to wait and give way without worrying much about getting rear-ended. There will be some (many?) like the one in the diagram but in time there should be more like this:

We have some like that already in King's Lynn, where NCN1 (which is mostly 3m away from the kerb, so no bend) crosses Spenser Road, Winter Nellis Way and the as-yet-unnamed road south of there. They mostly work for me, but that may be because motorists hesitate to pick a fight with a tall guy on a big Dutch bike, as other cyclists report mixed results, including one face-off with a raging driving instructor IIRC.

The bigger challenge will be breaking the bad driving habit of "mirror-signal-manoeuvre" where motorists turn after signalling regardless of any other road users. It needs to become something like mirror-signal-give-way-turn. I've seen councils chicken out of this fight before, removing bus lanes that crossed side road mouths, so I hope the various crises (climate, pollution, town centres clogged with cars) and national government support give them more backbone now.

 

[T4tomo]

They mostly work for me, but that may be because motorists hesitate to pick a fight with a tall guy on a big Dutch bike

You think motorists assess bike & rider weight before pulling a dodgy manoeuvre??

 

[HMS_Dave]

This news hasn't been received very well in HGV driving circles. Always interesting to read varying points of view. Don't shoot the messenger, but here is a recently started thread on TruckNet. It has still to get going, but don't expect much sympathy towards cyclists!

Lack of sympathy is one thing but jeeeezus...

What is it now? Two points for a pedestrian and three for a cyclist?

Just speed up and put your wipers on after you hit a lycra man - thats what I do

Have you ever been tempted to "punishment pass" them - giving them about half an inch space as you go past? Of course the idea never crosses my mind...

 

[mjr]

You think motorists assess bike & rider weight before pulling a dodgy manoeuvre??

Not always, but I think there's some sort of subconscious assessment made before they look right at you and decide whether or not to give way.

 

[Brandane]

Lack of sympathy is one thing but jeeeezus...

I wouldn't take anything you read on there too seriously; a LOT of keyboard warriors on that site. There are quite a few with some good advice too, but they are the minority, and are unlikely to appear on that particular thread.

 

[youngoldbloke]

This news hasn't been received very well in HGV driving circles. Always interesting to read varying points of view. Don't shoot the messenger, but here is a recently started thread on TruckNet. It has still to get going, but don't expect much sympathy towards cyclists!

Quote from a senior member -
Re: Be careful!!! increased rights for bikes and pedestria
by JeffA » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:55 am
Have you ever been tempted to "punishment pass" them - giving them about half an inch space as you go past? Of course the idea never crosses my mind...
JeffASENIOR MEMBER Posts: 190Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:28 am

Nice?

 

[Badger_Boom]

The link to "tips from the Netherlands..." in the BBC article posted by the OP made me smile.

Presumably their top tip is "don't be a d**k". If all road users took this mantra to heart, we would have WAY fewer problems.

 

[presta]

Unless motorists are suddenly going to start deciding who has right of way according to what it says in the Highway Code instead of who pays road tax, I can't see it making much difference, tbh.

 

[mjr]

The link to "tips from the Netherlands..." in the BBC article posted by the OP made me smile.

Presumably their top tip is "don't be a d**k". If all road users took this mantra to heart, we would have WAY fewer problems.

If you watch it instead of presuming, you'd see that the tips are (with my parenthetical comments):
1. Comfort. Cycleways wide enough to ride side-by-side and have a chat, suitable for 8-to-80.
2. Infrastructure. Cycleways or bicycle streets throughout (so not the English vanishing at junctions) the journey and enough bike parking at the destination (the film showed one of the vast bicycle garages).
3. Education. Get them young and teach them well, so drivers already understand how cyclists will move.
4. Insurance. Presumed liability. (which I think was only introduced 20+ years after the Stop Killing Children change, but I guess it doesn't hurt cycling.)

This Highway Code change is just a small first step on tips 3 and 4, really. There are other announcements like https://www.gov.uk/government/news/338-million-package-to-further-fuel-active-travel-boom which could help with the first two and are probably as important if not more.

 

[MontyVeda]

Car parks are one of the worst places for driving. People are busy thinking about where to park, the shopping they're about to do/have just done, the kids are whinging in the back seat, etc.

one of my old commutes involved cutting through the Asda car park... it was always on my highest level of alert there.

 

[classic33]

Unless motorists are suddenly going to start deciding who has right of way according to what it says in the Highway Code instead of who pays road tax, I can't see it making much difference, tbh.

Simple answer to that is no-one does.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Car parks are one of the worst places for driving. People are busy thinking about where to park, the shopping they're about to do/have just done, the kids are whinging in the back seat, etc.

People balk at the cost of car parking, but if you tried to rent the same size piece of land as office space or accommodation, you'd pay a stack more. In some places, it'd be feasible to get an appropriate sized vehicle kitted out and simply live in the car park, or at least use it as office space.

 

[annedonnelly]

People balk at the cost of car parking, but if you tried to rent the same size piece of land as office space or accommodation, you'd pay a stack more. In some places, it'd be feasible to get an appropriate sized vehicle kitted out and simply live in the car park, or at least use it as office space.

And sadly some people are forced to live in their cars because they can't afford housing :-(

 

[Badger_Boom]

If you watch it instead of presuming, you'd see that the tips are (with my parenthetical comments):
1. Comfort. Cycleways wide enough to ride side-by-side and have a chat, suitable for 8-to-80.
2. Infrastructure. Cycleways or bicycle streets throughout (so not the English vanishing at junctions) the journey and enough bike parking at the destination (the film showed one of the vast bicycle garages).
3. Education. Get them young and teach them well, so drivers already understand how cyclists will move.
4. Insurance. Presumed liability. (which I think was only introduced 20+ years after the Stop Killing Children change, but I guess it doesn't hurt cycling.)

This Highway Code change is just a small first step on tips 3 and 4, really. There are other announcements like https://www.gov.uk/government/news/338-million-package-to-further-fuel-active-travel-boom which could help with the first two and are probably as important if not more.

I was being flippant, and the actual link is very informative. However, can you imagine trying to ‘force’ some of that on British road users? The point I was making is that infrastructure (or lack of it) aside, our biggest single problem is ‘attitude’.

 

[lane]

The link to "tips from the Netherlands..." in the BBC article posted by the OP made me smile.

Presumably their top tip is "don't be a d**k". If all road users took this mantra to heart, we would have WAY fewer problems.

Facilities for cyclists in the Netherlands ate great obviously and drivers stick to the rules but as a cyclist if you don't the drivers are incredibly aggressive