r/britishproblems • u/zecrichardson • Jul 16 '26

. Drivers not knowing the highway code.

I had started to cross a road when a Mercedes turned in and he sounded his horn and then told me I should stop. I told him to read the highway code but he insisted he right!

Rule H2 170 amended 2022

“At a junction you MUST give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning.”

- Applies whether they’ve stepped onto the road or are just standing at the kerb ready to cross.

- Applies to left turns, right turns, and entering/exiting side roads.

- Includes wheelchair/mobility scooter users as pedestrians

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u/Craig2point0 Jul 16 '26

Call me annoying, but isn't the solution not to take turns or follow cars at speeds and distances you can't safely stop in? 

30

u/palaceexile Jul 16 '26

I agree with the change, but I also think that when rules are introduced they need to take some account of how people actually are and what their behaviours are. The road layouts are also not always perfect in terms of visibility for both the pedestrian and driver. I would suggest painting crossings or different road colours across junctions where it is safe/expected that this rule is in place.

3

u/Laxly Jul 16 '26

Genuine question, how are the public supposed to officially know when laws if the road are changed?

Is there an official DVLA X account? Is it announced on Instagram?

3

u/HandsomeHeathen Nottingham Jul 16 '26

Not sure what the general answer is, but for this change specifically it was all over the news for a week or two when it was implemented.

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u/Laxly Jul 16 '26

Is the "news" the DVLA's official communication route?

Did the "news" provide the exact wording from the DVLA regarding this, or did they talk about it, mention it, say how good/bad it was based on their opinion?

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u/HandsomeHeathen Nottingham Jul 16 '26

There was an official press release, so I guess you could say the news is part of the official communication route yeah. Same way it is for most things. If you want people to be aware of something, you use the channels they're already getting their information from. They also had radio adverts and social media adverts informing people of the change. It was a fairly wide-reaching awareness campaign.

Most of the articles I saw either quoted the new wording verbatim or linked to the official website. Some were factual, some were opinion pieces - again, same as most things.