This blog can be delivered to your staff as a Toolbox Talk. If you require a specific Toolbox Talk for your workplace, please feel free to get in touch.
Objective: To outline the changes to the Highway Code that came into effect on 29th January 2022.
Target: All operatives on site.
Awareness of the Highway Code
It is important that ALL road users are aware of The Highway Code, are considerate to other road users and understand their responsibility for the safety of others.
Everyone suffers when road collisions occur, whether they are physically injured or not. But those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others. This principle applies most strongly to drivers of large goods and passenger vehicles, vans/minibuses, cars/taxis and motorcycles.
Always remember that the people you encounter may have impaired sight, hearing or mobility and that this may not be obvious.
Hierarchy of Road Users
At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. If people have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road, the people crossing have priority and the traffic should give way.
You MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and to pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing.
Pedestrians have priority when on a zebra crossing, on a parallel crossing or at light controlled crossings when they have a green signal.
You should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a zebra crossing, and to pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross a parallel crossing.
Rules for Drivers and Motorcyclists
You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle. This applies whether they are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them.
Do not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the cyclist, horse rider or horse drawn vehicle going straight ahead to stop or swerve.
You should stop and wait for a safe gap in the flow of cyclists if necessary. This includes when cyclists are:
- approaching, passing or moving off from a junction
- moving past or waiting alongside stationary or slow-moving traffic
- travelling around a roundabout
If you have any questions about the contents of this Toolbox Talk, do not hesitate to contact us – our team would be happy to help you with any queries. We also offer a Driving Safely Awareness online training course, which aims to increase a user’s awareness of how their behaviour on the road can affect how safely they are driving.