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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To post this for road users unaware of upcoming highway code changes

458 replies

FluffyBooBoo · 17/12/2021 15:49

That's loads of info available online, but the AA have done a study that shows that two thirds of people are unaware of the charges.

Photo attached with basic info.

To post this for road users unaware of upcoming highway code changes
OP posts:
drainitallout · 17/12/2021 19:16

@whynotwhatknot

i did it was pitch black didnt see him till the last second

i have to sit and wait then till a cyclist pases me and crawl along behind it

Why? You're waiting for a cyclist to pass you so you can turn right I assume?
HaveringWavering · 17/12/2021 19:17

currently not all drivers realise they must give way to a pedestrian who is already crossing.

Er, @ErrolTheDragon, surely every driver realised that they must not run people over? I’m not sure that there is any alternative to giving way to someone who is already crossing?

imjustanerd · 17/12/2021 19:22

Great I live in a part of the country with terrible public transport (you really have to drive here), lots of bends and hills.
I'll have to set off to work ridiculously early if I can't overtake Sunday cyclists if they're now allowed to sit in the middle of the road.

soapboxqueen · 17/12/2021 19:25

Giving way to cyclists in a cycle lane when turning left isn't as tricky as it might sound initially but you have to treat it almost like you are turning right across traffic eg stop and wait for it to be clear.

There is a car park I use in my local city. You have to turn left into it from a dual carriage way except the inside lane is a no car lane. So even though traffic is in full flow, you have to stop essentially in the fast lane and wait for a gap then turn. Fine when it's buses and taxis. Much harder for the cyclists (and now electric scooters) because they ride so fast, over the hill just behind/round-about which means even if the road is clear and you move slowly you could still be involved in an accident.

However, at least there is some recognition that cyclists are a danger to pedestrians here. We have a lot of country paths that are shared spaces and you have to keep your head permanently spinning around to make sure you aren't going to get flattened by cyclist riding at incredible speeds. Nearly exclusively men. Women of all ages and teenage boys seem to understand how to ride carefully though.

BewareTheRedNosedDragon · 17/12/2021 19:25

The only cyclists I ever meet cycling in the middle of the road and large groups of weekend hobbyists on the windy country roads hereabout. I can see why they do it - it's hard to safely pass and I frequently end up sitting behind a single side riding cyclist for long stretches because there is nowhere safe to pass due to the constant blind bends, but the groups of weekenders NEVER pull over. It can be very frustrating. I'm not convinced that telling cyclist to ride in the middle but also pull over for cars will work - I don't think many will do the pulling over bit.

Fomofo · 17/12/2021 19:26

Are you sure it's NEVER!

DuesToTheDirt · 17/12/2021 19:28

@SirChenjins

Who in their right mind would step out in front of a car turning into a junction?! It doesn't really matter if you had a legal right of way if you end up in hospital with a life-changing injury as a result of being hit by a car. Surely you cross in a safe place when there are no cars coming - as was drilled into us all as children, and crossing at a busy junction doesn't seem very safe to me.
I thought this had always been the rule? (And I always thought it was stupid.)
ErrolTheDragon · 17/12/2021 19:28

surely every driver realised that they must not run people over? I’m not sure that there is any alternative to giving way to someone who is already

You'd have thought, but some seem to think the pedestrian should stop in the middle of the road, or make a dash for it.

BewareTheRedNosedDragon · 17/12/2021 19:28

Yup - near me it's never. I've spent 1.5hrs getting somewhere that should have been a 30min drive because the group I was behind did not pull in once. I don't go on certain popular hobby routes at the weekend anymore because of it.

Fomofo · 17/12/2021 19:29

'Good grief it will be carnage', do you think people thought that, quite rightly, when cars were invented?

Fomofo · 17/12/2021 19:31

Beware the rednose, and is your time very important

rarityroast · 17/12/2021 19:35

someone steps out round a corner in the dark wearing black and its my fault if i dont see them?

Don't you check the road is clear before you pull in there?

I don't understand half the responses on this thread. I can only assume everyone posting nonsense like this is cutting corners massively and taking them too fast. (I have a relative who does this and it drives me insane, constantly turning into roads only to find she's either blocked in by a parked car OR parked cars have forced the car waiting to pull out onto the middle which means she gets stuck).

When you turn into a side road you position your car so you can see into the road.

How exactly is a pedestrian on the edge of the pavement on the road you are looking directly into going to be so impossible to see?

Of course it's your fault Confused

Also I could have swore I was taught this rule anyway in 2016. Is it really not law yet? I genuinely thought they had right of way as you are crossing their paths. If not then I'm glad it's going to be brought in.

Fomofo · 17/12/2021 19:36

Surely people have head lights

BewareTheRedNosedDragon · 17/12/2021 19:39

@Fomofo

Beware the rednose, and is your time very important
Is their hobby more important? Is there not a compromise (like pulling over to let the car that has been stuck behind you for so long pass). I'm happy I guess if these new rules mean that they actually have to pull in. I guess that has been included since it is recognised that it is not reasonable to expect all car drivers to drive at a cyclists pace.

I have a foot in all camps - if there was decent public transport then there'd be less cars on the road and that would be a good thing. If there was proper provision for cyclists, separate from car drivers, then their differing needs could be better accommodated.

Fimofriend · 17/12/2021 19:39

Yes @mugandspoon there are a LOT more road accidents in Britain than in Scandinavia.
I guess it is because

  • the primary rule here is "right is might" so cars have more right to be there than pedestrians.
  • the roads are in a worse condition
  • the speed limits are higher in many areas.
  • in Britain people are still not used to cyclists on the road.
  • people park everywhere and in general do not seem to be aware of the number one rule ( in Scandinavia, anyway): "Do not inconvenience other people in the traffic!".
  • most people in Britain seem to think it is optional to use the indicator lights.
drainitallout · 17/12/2021 19:52

@mugandspoon you're absolutely right. These laws are there to put an end to the prevailing view that "might is right" and that roads are for cars and anyone else on them have less right to be there. It literally turns that on its head. And people are going to be furious about it!

iglpgl · 17/12/2021 19:58

@purplesequins

I think all drivers should do a road cycling course.
Absolutely agree!
Fomofo · 17/12/2021 20:01

'Might is right' can fuck right off

Octavia174 · 17/12/2021 20:03

@EvilPea

Parking the logistics of implementing this I’d like to see driving tests every 10 years. Roads change so much, cars change and driving changes.

I’d also like to see cyclists having tests, lights, hi viz and registrations.

It will be implemented in the courts when you ve run someone over.

So hopefully with the new tougher sentences for drivers found guilty, we might reduce the death tolls on the roads.

DeepaBeesKit · 17/12/2021 20:07

I think the pedestrian one has literally been brought in for specific reasons

  • junction of high holborn & kingsway when the lights change.
  • junction of strand and waterloo bridge

Both jump to mind

Lockheart · 17/12/2021 20:07

Many people forget that cars are only on the roads by permission. You need a licence to take one out. Not so for pedestrians, cycles, or horses.

Driving a car is a privilege, not an entitlement.

TruJay · 17/12/2021 20:30

You have to have eyes in your arse driving in my city. Pedestrians don’t even look and just step into the road so it’s not really anything new here Confused

ErrolTheDragon · 17/12/2021 20:36

And people are going to be furious about it!

Bad, impatient drivers will be.

I'm guessing many of us who welcome these moderate reforms are drivers.

blacksax · 17/12/2021 20:39

I live near a huge secondary school and have the misfortune to be heading off to work in the morning just as they are all arriving.

Eyes on their phone, they have always just sauntered into the road without looking whenever they feel like it, and this new law will make it a thousand times worse.

Many MAMIL cyclists are entitled gits already, and this new law will make them a thousand times worse as well.

SusieBob · 17/12/2021 20:42

@blacksax

I live near a huge secondary school and have the misfortune to be heading off to work in the morning just as they are all arriving.

Eyes on their phone, they have always just sauntered into the road without looking whenever they feel like it, and this new law will make it a thousand times worse.

Many MAMIL cyclists are entitled gits already, and this new law will make them a thousand times worse as well.

How would the requirement for drivers to give way to pedestrians make it "a thousand times worse", exactly?