It’s been fascinating seeing people’s response to a minor change in the Highway Code. The underlying philosophy is that responsibility should increased based on the power of your vehicle. The specific result is that the code now says that a pedestrian crossing a road junction has priority right of way over drivers turning into the junction.
Some people have reacted in rapturous delight arguing that it is about time too. Elsewhere in Europe, it is already established that pedestrians and then cyclists take priority. Others have argued that this is anti-car and even suggested that it is dangerous because it will require drivers to slow down or even stop on a busy dual carriageway. However, when pushed for the specific unique danger here as opposed to anything which causes someone to slow down or stop, there doesn’t appear to be an answer, except that apparently drivers are reckless and have no hazard awareness. That to be honest doesn’t sound like much of an argument against the rule change.
To understand why such a rule change might have been brought in, it’s worth stepping back a moment to consider two things. First, we will want to consider the scenario from the perspective of the pedestrian. Generally speaking, you don’t arrive at the junction exactly at the same time as the driver. Instead, it is likely that the pedestrian arrives at the junction ahead of the driver. The driver who is turning into the junction will still be a little distance off but approaching at speed. This means, that you make a decision to cross, often before the driver arrives and even before they indicate. It’s not certain at that point whether the driver is going to turn or keep going. So, you start to cross the road but as you do, the driver comes level with you, having not slowed down by much if at all and executes their turn, leaving you with no option but to leap back onto the kerb.
It’s important to remember at this stage, that the previous law already gave right of way to the pedestrian if they were already crossing the road. Arguably, this is not a major change but rather a minor change which should give greater clarity to responsible pedestrians and drivers. Sometimes a small adjustment can be quite significant in impact. It is clear to the driver that they are not meant to get into a race with the pedestrian to see who can cross first. They should in fact be slowing down and indicating. In most cases, this will mean that the pedestrian will already have crossed the road by the time the driver arrives
Secondly, we will want to consider how the rule change is intended to work. The reality is that this won’t change the behaviour of drivers who currently turn at speed into junctions are likely to adjust their behaviour and many people simply won’t be aware of the rule change. However, newer drivers, having passed their test will be aware of the rule and furthermore, driving instructors and examiners will be too. The intended result is probably long term. This nudge will help change the culture of driving amongst younger newer road users and as a result change the experience of pedestrians in the future.
Often small changes can have an impact on culture but we must be ready for the impact to be a long term affect.
Faithroots 