Prioritise Cyclists At Roundabouts – New Highway Code Rule

The Highway Code is updating the rules on who has priority on roundabouts, which should come into force next week.

The government website published that the code will state, “you should give priority to cyclists on the roundabout.

“They will be travelling more slowly than motorised traffic. Give them plenty of room and do not attempt to overtake them within their lane.”

This means that when cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles move onto a roundabout, they can stay in the left hand lane but must signal right until they intend to leave the roundabout. For drivers, this means that they will have to take extra care when moving onto a roundabout with slower riders.

Nick Chamberlin, the Recreation Operational Support Manager of British Cycling revealed that if you are not confident cycling on the roads you should “have a look near where you live and if there are traffic free spaces that you can at least try and get your confidence back on.

“Try and find other people to go riding with maybe people who have cycled a bit more than you have, that social aspect and act of sharing something with someone also helps to build confidence.”

This isn’t the only Highway code refresher that will happen in 2022

All motorists, cyclists and horse riders should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a junction.
This is a part of the ‘Hierarchy of Road Users’ concept that, in the event of a collision, it puts the most at risk group at the top of the hierarchy. The road users most likely to suffer an injury in the event of a collision are pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and motorcyclists.

Additionally, cyclists must give way to pedestrians when there is a shared use cycle track. And horse riders and horse drawn carriages will be permitted to share riding spaces with pedestrians, but must take care when passing.

When cycling on the road, only pass a large stationary or slow moving vehicle on the left and with caution.

If you have to stop on the roadside, drivers should open their door with the arm furthest away from the door, forcing them to look over their shoulder to traffic.