Following on from yesterday's tweets - for those wondering what the changes consist of, but who don't have time to wade through a whole consultation document, a thread ... https://twitter.com/POPScotland/status/1320062560897355777

What follows is based on the consultation survey itself which handily summarises the three main changes (there are other ways to respond).

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/K736D5/ 

First of these is the introduction of a hierarchy of road users where those who can cause the greatest harm bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others.

(note to visually impaired readers: all of the images attached are screenshots of the survey or the consultation document so to get access to readable text, just follow the link to the survey)

Rule H2 establishes the priorities for pedestrians - when and where drivers, cyclists and horse riders alike should give way to them.

Rule H3 establishes when and where drivers and motorcyclists should give way to cyclists. Basically not cutting across cyclists whether turning, going round a roundabout, or changing lane.

Like most of the changes proposed, these seem generally a good thing. You can quibble with the wording - and the survey gives you an opportunity to do just that - but as a general principle having this stated right at the start of the Highway Code seems like a step forward.

The changes to Rule 8 and Rule 19 also propose strengthening the guidance on when drivers (and cyclists) MUST give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings when they're already crossing and SHOULD give way when they're waiting to cross at a junction or a zebra crossing.

Rule 63 introduces guidance for cyclists sharing space with pedestrians and horse riders. This seems common sense (although it's best not to use your bell when approaching a horse - talk to the rider instead).

Rule 72 is a key one - it establishes when cyclists could and should take primary (the centre of the lane). Unfortunately as drafted at the moment it's very unclear - but there's room to raise that in the consultation.

Rule 73 also establishes that cyclists should place themselves in the centre of the lane at junctions, just as they would in a car.

Meanwhile Rule 76 establishes that cyclists going straight ahead have priority over turning traffic in most cases.

The consultation survey skips over some changes but gives you the option to comment on them individually. One of the ones it skips over is Rule 66 - here are the old and new wordings side by side. It establishes the fact that it's sometimes safer for groups to ride 2 abreast.

The wording is not great however. @WeAreCyclingUK have suggested an alternative in this document here https://www.cyclinguk.org/sites/default/files/document/2020/10/highway_code_10_key_changes_1610.pdf

There's more for cyclists, including guidance on using roundabouts but turning now to the section on rules for drivers, Rule 140 establishes that drivers should give way to cyclists in cycle lanes, and when turning across cycle tracks.

Importantly, it emphasises that cyclists are not obliged to use cycle lanes or cycle tracks - nice to have that spelled out in black and white

Another big change is to Rule 163 on overtaking which not only makes it clear that cyclists can overtake on the left, but establishes some guidance on how much space to give cyclists and other road users when passing.

You could argue that it would have been simpler to instruct drivers to change lanes to pass, but this establishes distances of 1.5 m below 30mph and 2m above 30mph. It also clarifies how to pass pedestrians when they're walking in the road.

There's other guidance on not overtaking at pedestrian crossings and not overtaking cyclists just before you turn left, but the next big one is Rule 167, on not cutting up bikes on roundabouts.

The proposed changes to Rule 195 establish cyclist priority on parallel crossings, effectively making them equivalent to zebra crossings. This is pretty important for making these work.

Again the consultation skips a few changes but you have space to comment on them individually - here are a few you might want to bear in mind, like HGVs stopping far enough back to see into ASLs, and drivers not blocking crossings in queuing traffic.

Another really key change is to Rule 213 - which makes it clear that cyclists should be taking the lane and riding clear of the door zone. Again, nice to have that written down in black and white.

And finally there's the 'Dutch Reach' one about opening the car door with the opposite hand, so you look behind you for approaching cyclists.

On the whole the changes offer a massive improvement not just to drivers' behaviour (at least those learning to drive) but also for enforcement and prosecution. Some are key to making infrastructure like cycle tracks and parallel crossings work.

But you've only got until midnight tomorrow to respond. This thread gives you all the information you need on how to do it - even if you're just clicking through the survey going 'yes' to everything it will help. https://twitter.com/POPScotland/status/1320062560897355777