Highway Code changes may be a bit of waste of time for some – Hayley Matthews

I have to admit that I fear the new traffic rules that came into play recently may be a bit of a waste of time.

Police officers may not struggle to be given the priority due to all horse-riders (Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

I’ve heard people talking about how you need to stop to let pedestrians cross, however, wouldn’t you normally do that anyway, if you were able to?

The Highway Code updates include giving priority to pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. “You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse-drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle,” it now says. Motorists should also leave a gap of at least 1.5 metres, or five feet, when overtaking cyclists and two metres for horses.

But this would all surely have been adhered to already, no? I mean, who in their right mind wouldn’t give a horse the right of way on the road? Horses get so spooked by cars and motorbikes that they need that space anyway. Anyone can see this.

I get cyclists being given priority, as they should. Safety first for those on bikes, I completely agree. However, if those bombing it close to the cycle lane had not been giving cyclists their space up until now, I doubt a rule-change will make much difference.

So many drivers who are stuck in their ways and who have been driving for decades will most likely carry on as normal.

I also think that the majority of these rules are just common sense and if you don’t have that, no amount of regulations will make you a good driver.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.