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UK Highway Code changes to be adopted in Guernsey

BBC Cycle lane sign on roadsideBBC
Cyclists will get new guidance on where to position themselves in the road from Saturday

Changes to the Highway Code that are relevant to Guernsey will take effect from Saturday.

The main emphasis of the changes made by the UK Department for Transport is the new Hierarchy of Road Users.

It will give pedestrians more priority at crossings and junctions.

The States of Guernsey said the changes shared the "values and vision of the On-Island Integrated Transport Strategy" and that many of the changes were already adopted by road users.

The government said the Hierarchy of Road Users, "underscores that those who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce danger or threat they may pose to others".

Road junction in Guernsey
The priority of road users will change, with greater priority given to pedestrians

It added that the Guernsey Code would take precedence on the island's roads where material differences existed between the UK Highway Code and Guernsey Law.

The States said further information would be published in the coming days looking at the changes that have been made to the UK Highway Code and how they might be applied locally.

The new UK Highway Code will be published on the Department for Transport website on Saturday.

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Some of the key changes to the UK Highway Code aim to:

  • Emphasise a Hierarchy of Road Users that emphasises that faster and heavier modes of travel have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others on the road
  • Clarify that all vehicular traffic, motorised and non-motorised, should give way to people on foot crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which they are turning
  • Offer new guidance about routes and spaces which are shared by people walking, cycling and riding horses
  • Update guidance for where cyclists should position themselves in the road
  • Update guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking people on foot, on bikes, on horses or driving a horse-drawn vehicles
  • Clarify priority of certain road users in certain situations at road junctions and on roundabouts
  • Recommend a technique called 'the Dutch Reach' for drivers when opening vehicle doors
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