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Poll backs Highway Code plan improving safety when passing horse riders ■ By Glynn Williams MBE, Motoring Correspondent

Be switched on to prospect of fossil fuel tax increases ■ By Glynn Williams MBE, Motoring Correspondent

MOST road users in a poll are against many proposed changes to the Highway Code designed to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders – but there is strong backing for the ruling giving horse riders a wider berth and slower speed when passing. Survey respondents believe that the Department for Transport changes will in other areas increase conflict and potentially reduce the safety of the vulnerable road users they are intended to protect. In the survey, conducted by the UK’s largest road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, 71% of drivers and motorcyclists believe the new proposal to give pedestrians prior- ity when vehicles are turning into and out of junctions, for example, will increase conflict rather than reducing it, with 57% thinking this will be a significant issue. At present drivers should give way to pedestrians when emerg- ing at a junction. Meanwhile of the 3,600 web poll respondents, 71% agree with the general concept that drivers and riders should give motorcyclists, cyclists, horse riders, horse drawn vehicles and pedestrians walking in the road at least as much room as they would when overtaking a car. There is also strong support for every proposal that contains clear guidelines on passing distances, with 78% in favour of the one and a half-metre gap between cyclist and vehicle travelling below 30mph, with a two-metre gap when above 30mph. And 90% agree with the new code’s advice that drivers and motorcyclists should give horse riders at least two metres’ space and pass at speeds under 15 mph. But while 74% believe that chil- dren should be allowed to cycle on the pavement, only 23% feel that

cyclists in general should have the same rights. Almost three-quarters (73%) think that the new Highway Code should make it compulsory for cyclists to wear a helmet, in con- trast to the proposed code itself which stops short of making them compulsory, while restating that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of a head injury in certain circumstances.. On the new code’s most contro- versial suggestions – to establish a hierarchy of road users, where those in charge of the vehicles that can cause the greatest harm should bear the greatest respon- sibility to take care – the majority (56%) agree that this is the right way forward, but 26% are against and almost one in five (19%) are still to be convinced either way. The new code does not suggest any obligation on cyclists to use cycle lanes or tracks when they are present, and a resounding 80% of IAM RoadSmart’s poll respondents believe this is a mistake. However, some of the pro- posed changes were met with widespread support, with 63% of those surveyed agreeing with the new advice that when riding a bike on busy roads, when vehicles are moving faster than them, cyclists should move over and allow traffic to overtake them. Finally, just over half (57%) agree with the new proposal to include the ‘Dutch Reach’ in the Highway Code. This is a technique which advises motorists leaving their vehicles to do so by using their left hand to operate the door handle, allow- ing the driver to naturally twist their body, making it easier to look over their shoulder and check for cyclists or other road users approaching. Neil Greig, policy and research director at IAM RoadSmart, said: “Regardless of what changes are introduced, it is clear there will be a need for a huge education campaign to ensure any amend- ments to the Highway Code are

understood and fully adopted by the millions of existing UK drivers, motorcyclists and road users. “At IAM RoadSmart we believe an online resource to help with this re-education in an engaging way would be helpful. “The simple truth is that most of us don’t read the Highway Code unless we drive or ride profession- ally, or are about to take a test. The Department for Transport needs to be realistic about the impact simply changing a seldom read document will have on the behav- iour and safety of road users.” ■

LAST month’s advance- ment of the fossil fuel guillotine to 2030 came as little surprise after the death knell for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was sounded some time ago – only a ban on the sale of new ones, not using and trading in pre- 2030 models. That is a long way off in most people’s shopping priorities, but just a final model generation away for the motor manufacturers, per- haps two if you include the hybrids’ 2035 showroom headstone. But the appropriately switched-on motorist is going to be fully conscious that with the unprecedented government outlay in the Covid-19 pandemic there are going to have to be sub- stantial tax raids to balance the books – and motoring has long been a primary target. The government’s green plan means the electric benefits should be safe for a while, but the need for revenue – heightened by a big drop in public motoring and hence fuel consumption in the lockdowns – is likely to bring raised taxes on petrol and diesel cars, with more

than a nod at environmental ben- efits in cleaner air. Right now the average elec- tric driver can enjoy motoring for around 3p/mile if charging at home instead of 8p-plus for pump petrol or diesel, while servicing costs are about one-third of those for internal combustion vehicles. You can even charge the car for free in many places and avoid the cost penalties of entering conges- tion zones. Buy a new purely electric car now and you can get up to £3,000 government plug-in car grant (PiGC) towards its cost and £350 towards a home charger – but the PiGC used to be £4,500 and there used to be incentive for hybrids too. Electric benefits also include free road tax – unless the list price is over £40,000 when you pay £325 per year for years two to six – and zero business benefit in kind income tax. Hybrids used to bene- fit but newer models now only get £10 off the standard £150 road tax for the second year on. Such incentives have helped this year’s electric car market share increase to 5% from 1.4% in 2019, and in the past year there were more electrics sold than in the pre- vious decade. ■

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