Organisation`: Department for Transport
Date of Publication: December 2021
Uploaded to Knowledge Centre: 8 December 2021
For this consultation, DfT worked closely with expert stakeholder groups representing different users of the road to review the rules in The Highway Code and how they could be amended to improve safety for pedestrians, particularly children, older adults and disabled people, cyclists and horse riders.
DfT launched the consultation on 28 July 2020 to gather views on the effectiveness of the proposed changes for improving safety for vulnerable road users.
The consultation document posed a series of questions about our proposals, which covered the following three changes:
- Introducing a hierarchy of road users to ensure those who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others
- Clarifying existing rules on pedestrian priority on pavements and that drivers and riders should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross the road
- Establishing guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking cyclists or horse riders, and ensuring they have priority at junctions when travelling straight ahead
The consultation ran for 12 weeks and generated nearly 21,000 responses from a range of respondents including government, public and business.
The majority of respondents were in favour of all the changes proposed, believing that they would improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. They welcomed the timing of the changes as more people embrace alternative modes of transport, with cycling and walking on the increase. Feedback also emphasised the importance of offering greater protection to those road users.
For more information about the consultation outcomes visit the gov.uk website: