How it Effects Cyclists & Drivers
Headlines
Cyclists will be able to ride in the centre of the lane to make themselves more visible.
Highway Code will encourage cyclists to ride two abreast.
Motorists are to leave a minimum of 1.5 metres when overtaking.
Even if there are adjoining cycle lanes and tracks, cyclists will not be obliged to use them.
The new rules take effect from Saturday 29th January 2022.
New Highway Code Details
Under far-reaching changes to the rules of the road, intended to improve safety and “unleash our nation of cyclists”, the updated Highway Code, which takes effect on Saturday 30th January 2022, will encourage cyclists to ride two abreast.
The rules make it clear that cyclists, including children, are not permitted to ride on the pavement. Only pedestrians and wheelchair or mobility scooter users are allowed to do so.
Neil Greig, the director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, a road safety charity, said:
“We’re talking about overturning the way people have been trained to drive for their whole lives, how some have been driving for 30 or 40 years, so you’re talking about a fundamental change in priorities.”
Until now, there has been no official guidance for motorists on where cyclists should ride. The new rules advise that they should ride in the centre of the lane on quiet streets, in slow-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions or road narrowings where it would be unsafe for drivers to overtake.
On faster roads they should keep left, allowing vehicles to overtake. They should also move to the left if a faster vehicle comes up behind, if they can do so safely. Cyclists should always keep at least half a metre from the kerb.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the changes would “introduce a hierarchy of road users to ensure that those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others”.
