The Official DVSA Highway Code - app is now available

 

The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency has launched a brand-new Highway Code app. It will provide a fun and easy way to stay up to date with all the Highway Code rules to make sure you’re being a better and safer road user.

The app includes:  

Instant access to the very latest version of the Official Highway Code while on the move, on tablets and on mobile devices.

Study cards, quizzes and timed challenge features, that help users check their knowledge of the Highway Code and track their progress.

A voice over option enabling users to listen as well as read.

So wherever you are on the driving or riding journey: starting, learning, improving or advanced training - this app will ensure that the information you need is always with you.

Apple App Store

Google Play Store

The Official Highway Code 2022 edition

The Official Highway Code is seeing one of its biggest overhauls with new rules coming into force.

It remains essential reading for any road user. Many rules are a legal requirement and, if you disobey them, you're committing a criminal offence. Make sure you have the latest copy.

Changes for 2022

New rules on the hierarchy of road users – This means the introduction of new responsibilities towards more vulnerable road users, to keep them safe on the road. These are known as the ‘H’ rules

Junctions— You should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road that you’re turning into

Parking laws—New rules around parking on pavements

Source material – The Official Highway Code remains one of the source materials for all theory tests

Keep safe, make sure you're up to date with the latest rules of the road. Avoid penalties and fines by getting the latest copy of The Official Highway Code.

Buy now to reserve your copy - estimated delivery: 15th April

www.safedrivingforlife.info

Have you heard of the Dutch Reach? The changes to The Highway Code you need to know

With the government set to confirm major changes to The Highway Code, road users need to get up to speed with a range of changes to the rules of the road this autumn. The updates are the largest overhauls to the code since mid-2018, with a plethora of amendments and new rules including a hierarchy of responsibility that will affect all road users. 

The Cycling and Walking Review and the recent Summer of Cycling show that government is firmly committed to promoting active travel alternatives to the car, although traffic levels are now quickly returning to normal. The focus of the review is to improve road safety for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders in an effort to make active forms of travel easier and safer.

Among the highlights of the updated code is the inclusion of the Dutch Reach, the safety practice whereby drivers and passengers use the hand furthest from the door to exit their vehicle. This naturally turns the driver or passenger towards the window, making it easier to spot approaching cyclists. 

www.iamroadsmart.com

Code breaker: motorists in danger of breaking the new “rules of the road”

The UK’s leading road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has warned that a lack of communication from the government regarding the sweeping changes to the Highway Code set to come into force on the 29th January means that many motorists will be running the risk of inadvertently breaking the rules of the road.

Indeed, four new rules and 49 changes to the Code include the requirement for drivers to give way to pedestrians at a junction, as well as a new risk-based ‘Hierarchy of Road Users’, which places more responsibility on the drivers of larger vehicles to look after more vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

And while IAM RoadSmart has welcomed some of the changes, the charity has cautioned that the new rules will be of very little benefit if the public aren’t made aware of them.

For a range of graphics which illustrate the new Highway Code rules, CLICK HERE.

www.iamroadsmart.com

Upcoming changes to the Highway Code - need to know!

Pedestrians and cyclists are due to be placed at the top of a re-ordered pecking order, as a new Highway Code hierarchy rule is on the cards.

If approved in Parliament once MPs return from their summer holidays, the new rule will look at protecting the most vulnerable road users by giving them the most right of way, with the new hierarchy reflecting how much potential danger a motorist will pose to other road users – placing the heaviest vehicles at the bottom with the most responsibility.

On the change, a statement from the Department for Transport reads: ‘Car drivers will be responsible for ensuring cyclists are safe, while cyclists will be responsible for looking out for pedestrians,’ adding that this ‘does not remove the need for all road users to behave responsibly.’

www.morebikes.co.uk

Bikers barred from riding between lanes as French trial ends

Motorcyclists in 11 French departments will again be barred from driving between two lanes of vehicles from February 1, after a five-year trial comes to an end.

The trial - which began on February 1, 2016, and involved some 3,000km of roads in Ile-de-France, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gironde, and the Rhône - has  concluded that the relatively common practice of motorbikes travelling in the gaps between two lanes of cars on dual carriageways is unsafe and should not be written into France's highway code.

Filtering (known as Lane Splitting in the USA) is allows riders to save time, bypassing traffic congestion, and may also be safer than stopping behind stationary vehicles. In the UK, filtering is legal & perfectly safe if done well. Another thing to watch out for when eventually we get a chance to go abroad on our Motorbikes!

www.connexionfrance.com

Road Safety: Travel Like You Know Them - Think!

On the 29 January 2022, The Highway Code changed to improve road safety for people walking, cycling or horse riding.

The changes were communicated in two phases.  A factual awareness raising campaign ran in February-March 2022, followed by a broader behaviour change campaign, ‘Travel Like You Know Them’ in July-August 2022.   To continue embedding the changes and encouraging uptake of the guidance, ‘Travel Like You Know Them’ is re-launching in August 2023.

The campaign speaks to everyone who uses the road, with a focus on those who have a greater responsibility to reduce the risk that they may pose to others.

By offering a snapshot into the lives of everyday road users, we want to help people see more than vehicles on the road. The campaign aims to help all road users better understand each other and encourage positive behaviours to help keep everyone safe.

www.think.gov.uk

Be aware: there are animals on the road! Pegasus, Pelican, Puffin, Toucan, and Zebra Crossings

I'm in the process of reading the new / updated Highway Code - for my IAM studies. I came across a section of the book that detailed all of the different pedestrian crossings. Who knew there were so many?

As a driver, it is important to know the different types of pedestrian crossings so you can give pedestrians the right of way when needed. Not only that, but you may be tested on the different crossings during your driving test. Luckily for you, the 5 different crossings are named after animals so they are easier to remember.

www.toptests.co.uk