Road Safety GB has welcomed the ‘new and improved’ Highway Code, announced by the DfT on 18 October, which is designed to help keep cyclists and pedestrians safe on the roads.
The new Highway Code will highlight how to avoid the dangers of close passing a cyclist, and encourage people to adopt the ‘Dutch reach’, a method of opening a car door with the hand furthest from the handle, to force drivers to look over their shoulder for cyclists and other passing traffic.
Steve Horton, director of communications for Road Safety GB, said: “The Highway Code sets out the basic rules for safer road use and how we should all share the benefits and challenges of keeping ourselves and others safe.
“Most road users see it as something you have to learn about in order to pass a test and then forget about – but these changes show that the document evolves and approaches change over time, and it’s our responsibility to be familiar with such changes.
“These changes are very much welcomed by Road Safety GB and in many cases formalise what all good road users will have known already, like the importance of giving cyclists space.
“Overall I’m pleased that Government recognises the need to focus on the safety of our most vulnerable road users and thereby help promote their much wider health benefits.”
- Click here to read the full news report.
22 October 2018
Comment on this story