"Disappointing": Department for Transport drops out of All-Party meeting on Highway Code changes as publicity issue discussed

An All-Party Parliamentary Cycling and Walking Group meeting to discuss the impact of changes made to the Highway Code in the UK a year after they were brought in went ahead without a representative from the Department for Transport yesterday afternoon. Some influential figures concluded that although the changes were positive, more needed to be done to promote them and raise awareness, with Co-Chair Ruth Cadbury MP saying that the late dropout of Laura Hill from the DfT was "disappointing" because the Highway Code is "theirs to own and promote." 

> Most drivers still don't know Highway Code changes, poll shows

Guest speakers at the meeting, broadcast in full on YouTube, included the President of the AA Edmund King, Rachel Botterill of Leigh Day solicitors, Cycling UK's head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore and DCS Andy Cox, with the general consensus being that although the changes - such as advising cyclists to ride two abreast in some circumstances, introducing a hierarchy of road users and recommending the Dutch Reach technique to avoid dooring cyclists - were positive, communication and publicity had been largely ineffective. 

> Highway Code changes one year on: "Confusion in communication has created the perfect storm and done little to improve safety for cyclists"

Duncan Dollimore said: "Our concern is the resource that's been given to actually push these changes out. 

"It's not just enough to say "this is the change you must comply", it's also an exercise in explaining the rationale, and we haven't really got to that point. 

"Ministers and the Department for Transport [should be] actively supporting and talking about the rationale behind these changes... it has sometimes felt like it's fallen to representative bodies to justify the changes.

"It would be nice to see a bit of Government shouting about something they've actually achieved themselves, which they deserve credit for.

"We remain of the view that these changes are something which could have potentially huge benefits, but there does need to be greater communication, better understanding and better self-promotion." 

Edmund King explained how the AA were "very very supportive" of the changes initially, although clarification was sought on drivers giving way to pedestrians when turning left. 

King said: "In terms of hierarchy of road users... we even tried to educated the media, I think that was GB News... who were very very cynical about it and thought the AA would be up in arms, but we managed to put them right there."

He also praised the introduction of a new module in AA and BSM driving schools that educates learner drivers on the new Highway Code changes, and new questions about them that have been added to the driving theory test. 

King also noted how public perception of supposed 'controversial' guidance in the updated Code, such as the advice for cyclists to ride two abreast, is likely different to how it was portrayed in some parts of the media, making mention of error-strewn articles that appeared in publications such as the Daily Mail around the changes last year. 

In the AA's survey of 12,545 drivers conducted in September 2022, 40% said they were more mindful of cyclists than they were a year ago, and 81% agreed with Rule 66, that mentions consideration to those cycling in groups and those riding two abreast for improved safety: "When it's actually explained, you are getting 80-odd per cent agreeing with that," added King. 

89% of the survey participants also agreed with leaving at least 1.5 metres when overtaking a cyclist, and more if overtaking at higher speeds. 

DCS Andy Cox, addressing if the changes had had any impact on reducing road crime, praised the improved clarity on the 1.5 metres minimum passing distance for drivers passing cyclists and the Dutch Reach, but said there needed to be "a broader look" at marketing the changes. 

"I don't really see an effective marketing campaign around it," he said. 

"From an enforcement perspective we don't really see a change. 

"When a cyclist does take the centre ground [of their lane] if the driver is not aware of the Highway Code change, or doesn't sign up to it or buy into it, it arguably creates more risk. 

"For me it still comes back to a fundamental culture challenge around the way we drive. There's too many people prepared to do an overtake which is far too dangerous, they then wait at a junction, wait at a red light, the cyclist catches them up, and it goes on and on and on. 

"Until we really fundamentally deal with that this will always be an issue."

Behavioural scientist Shaun Helman also reiterated the need for effective campaigning alongside any new legislation and guidance, showing how public attitudes to drink driving shifted and coincided with a large reduction (but not complete elimination) of serious or fatal drink driving-related incidents over three decades. 

Perhaps ironically, the one year anniversary of the Highway Code changes brought in to make cycling and walking safer have coincided with the Government slashing the budget for active travel schemes in England, with the meeting ending by requesting that the Department for Transport is questioned on the cuts.

The Walking & Cycling Alliance (WACA), has estimated that two thirds of previously promised funding will be lost, making it “impossible” to meet Net Zero and active travel targets.