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61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:49 am
by jont-
according to the AA:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62789079
so 35% of drivers are liars? I'd be amazed if it's anywhere near 4% never mind 40% that have read it. Some might be aware of these changes via news articles but I'm at the point where I wonder why we even bother with legislation and driving tests any more.

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 8:19 am
by M1ke H
jont- wrote:61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

and you're surprised?

Regardless of ones views on the current standard of driving, I think the lack of promotion around the recent changes has been lamentable given the fairly fundamental shift in thinking.

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 9:17 am
by Horse
M1ke H wrote:
jont- wrote:61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

and you're surprised?

the lack of promotion


Problem here is 'how' can that be achieved effectively?

In ye olden dayes, you might regularly have heard a clipped voice saying "This, is a public information fillum"

Of course, nowadays, people can fast forward through adverts or, on streaming services, not see ads at all. Online, they'll scroll past ads. Newsprint? Wassat then?

So how could that effective promotion be achieved?

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 9:54 am
by GTR1400MAN
Horse wrote:So how could that effective promotion be achieved?

Just put the CORRECT info on social media with a slight anti-cyclist click bait headline ... job done. It will get millions of views and shares. :o :(

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 10:50 am
by angus
This is on a par with the surveys where a given percentage of drivers swear they NEVER exceed the speed limit

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 12:31 pm
by waremark
jont- wrote:according to the AA:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62789079
so 35% of drivers are liars? I'd be amazed if it's anywhere near 4% never mind 40% that have read it. Some might be aware of these changes via news articles but I'm at the point where I wonder why we even bother with legislation and driving tests any more.

4% - I would share your amazement. I would be surprised if 0.4% have read it, if you exclude those preparing for the theory test. I haven't. I'd be surprised if 40% of the nerdy group of us here have read it, however much we have read about it.

I am always surprised at the lack of common sense by those who arrive at and publish such completely unbelievable stats.

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 3:40 pm
by Strangely Brown
angus wrote:This is on a par with the surveys where a given percentage of drivers swear they NEVER exceed the speed limit


"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Re: 61% of drivers haven't read the new highway code

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 5:37 pm
by jont-
Horse wrote:So how could that effective promotion be achieved?

There's been quite a lot of adverts, posters in service stations etc about "go left" for when you break down on the motorway (god knows only why they missed the opportunity to also say "keep left when you're not actually overtaking" :roll: )

Maybe there should be some sort of requirement for periodic reassesment of highway code knowledge? Why should it have to be promoted? Driving is supposed to be a licensed activity. I can't think of any other activity of similar danger where you'd be allowed to continue with it for 50+ years without any sort of reassessment.