Bryn Brooker, road safety expert at Nextbase said drivers should “keep themselves informed” about the new changes to avoid being caught out. The new rules will see the introduction of a new ‘hierarchy of road users’ system.
This will mean drivers who have the potential to do the most harm on the roads will have the responsibility to avoid incidents.
It means drivers of vehicles, lorries and vans will have to be more responsible for incidents than cyclists and pedestrians.
Mr Brooker said: “We can expect to see an update to the Highway Code towards coming into effect at the end of January to provide better protection to vulnerable road users such as cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians.
“Christmas and the New Year is a busy time of year for everyone.
READ MORE: Drivers should ‘take responsibility’ under incoming Highway Code laws
“Therefore we want to ensure that motorists are aware of this new set of rules as there are some changes around the hierarchy for road users, pedestrian priorities as well as priority for cyclists and horse riders when cars are turning or at junctions.
“We recommend that all motorists keep themselves informed with changes to the Highway Code to ensure their safety due to the Government putting more pressure on motorists by stating that responsibility lies with ‘road users who can do the greatest harm’.”
A consultation conducted by the Department for Transport found widespread support for the ‘hierarchy of road users’ policy.
A massive 78.96 percent of those polled said they agreed with the new scheme.
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Just over 18 percent said they disagreed with the project after fears the rule could make roads less safe.
Some motorists indicated that vulnerable road users may believe they can “do as they please without any consequences” on the road.
This could see more vulnerable road users behave in an “irrepressible manner” in a massive safety risk.
The DfT has confirmed the wording “will emphasise that all road users have a responsibility for their own safety”.
“But it will be interesting to see how these changes are rolled out.
“Making changes to the Highway Code may initially cause a few problems with experienced drivers taking longer to adapt to the changes.
“Devising new rules for junctions, where accidents are already common, may lead to more confusion and collisions.”
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