FEATURE


The new Highway Code is here


(and what it means for your customers)


What impact will the updated guidance have on would-be cyclists? Alex Ballinger explores the welcome rule changes impacting bike riders


A


fter so many years riding a bike out on the road, it’s easy (and perhaps essential) to become desensitized to the more common safety risks posed by drivers. With close-passes being at least a daily occurrence for


any cyclist, the hazard of being left-hooked by an impatient motorist, and the ever-present possibility that someone might open their car door into your path, bike riders in the UK are far from protected as things stand. During the coronavirus lockdowns, I lost count of the


number of friends who messaged me to say they were A) enjoying riding their bike on the quiet streets, or B) in the market for a new bike, tempted by the deserted roads as drivers had nowhere to be.


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Now nearly two years on from the first lockdown, almost all of those friends have put the bike away, and all for the same reason – ‘the roads are too busy, I don’t feel safe’. In recent weeks I’ve been reminded of exactly how it


feels to ride a bike through the streets of London, flanked by double-decker buses, articulated lorries, and private hire cars, with just 10kg of Brompton bike separating rider from tonnes of steel, fiberglass and rubber. But there could be a silver-lining for cyclists.


The new code Following years of campaigning by cycling advocacy groups, a new Highway Code is finally here, complete with great


February 2022 | 21


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