Britain’s roads are busier than ever, accommodating over 39.2 million licensed vehicles by the end of June 2021. But these roads need to become safer, with 1,460 people being killed in road traffic accidents during 2020. The latest version of the Highway Code (GB), produced by the Department of Transport (DoT) and the Driver Vehicles and Standards Agency (DVSA) and effective from 29 January 2022 onward, aims to further reduce the falling, yet still unacceptable, toll of road death fatalities through a variety of new measures.
The 189-page document has been published by The Stationery Office and is available in both print and online versions. The latest edition of the Highway Code contains a total of 307 rules, including 33 amended and two new rules. These updates are the result of a pre-consultation exercise in October 2020, in which the initial DoT proposals were shared with 37 “stakeholder organisations” and then followed by a public consultation in March 2021, inviting comments on the draft guidance from 3,200 individuals and organisations.
The new Code introduces a hierarchy of road users, prioritising pedestrians (especially children, older or disabled people), cyclists, and horse riders over motorcyclists, cars and taxis, vans and minibuses, and larger public service or heavy goods vehicles. It also establishes new priorities at road junctions, road crossings, and roundabouts, and new rules for overtaking on the road. Cyclists are allowed to occupy the middle of the lane in “quiet roads” or in slower-moving traffic, and can ride two abreast for safety. Cyclists are also protected by adoption of the ‘Dutch reach’, whereby a car occupant or driver opens their respective door with the opposite hand, allowing them to look over their shoulder for any passing cyclist or motorcyclist approaching from behind. The increased protections for cyclists, driven by a growing desire to protect the environment, have inevitably fanned the flames of discontent for many car drivers reluctant to share use of the roads with what they perceive to be frequently irresponsible cyclists.
Over the years, the Highway Code has been a consistent non-fiction bestseller, in constant print publication for an assured audience, supplemented more recently by an online version which is downloadable for free. The primary aim is to made Britain’s roads safer for all types of users, both human and animal. The document includes information about road signs, road markings, and vehicle markings, along with advice and rules governing behaviour on the roads, which cover speed limits, signalling, lane discipline, manoeuvring, and stopping. It can be considered as the law of the road as it applies in Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), with a modified version available for use in Northern Ireland.
Since its first launch on 14 April 1931 as an 18-page document, one-third of which covered hand signals, the Highway Code has steadily grown over the years into a much bulkier document, in response to technological innovations in road transport, improved traffic management schemes, and more effective road safety measures. The first edition was the only one to carry advertisements. The second edition, in 1934, introduced ten illustrations of road signs and warned about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. The fourth edition, in 1954, included first aid guidance on the back cover. Rules covering motorway driving first appeared in the fifth edition, in 1959, while the sixth edition, in 1968, introduced photographs and 3D illustrations. By 1978, the seventh edition was already running to seventy pages, including the Green Cross Code for pedestrians. A hand-written introduction by Ernest Marples, Minister of Transport, ended with the unambiguous words “DO keep to the Code and keep alive”. In keeping with the times, the Highway Code featured on Facebook and Twitter in 2011, and an Official Highway Code app became available from May 2012.
The main problem with the well-intentioned Highway Code is that it is not legally binding in its entirety. Some of the rules merely reflect common sense and good practice and are at best to be considered advisory, although potentially usable in a court of law to establish liability in civil legal proceedings. The Code has not created any new offences, which requires primary legislation. Only ‘must or ‘must not’ rules are legally binding, while ‘should’, ‘should not’, ‘do’, or ‘do not’ remain advisory. This means that people may choose to follow their instincts and to be guided by their personal understanding of best practice while making split-second decisions on the road, rather than follow instructions from a government claiming to act in their best interests. It remains to be seen how effective the new Code, given its length and the large number of rules it contains, will prove to be in making roads safer. Nonetheless, the sanctions for careless driving, ranging from cautions, fines, penalty points on licences, disqualifications, through to prison sentences, behove all road users, and not just existing vehicle drivers or those about to take the driving test, to find the time to read the relevant sections of the latest Highway Code.
Ashis Banerjee