The hierarchy of road users, and how much room to leave

What the hierarchy says

The Highway Code opens with three rules, H1 to H3, that frame everything after them.

Those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others.

The order runs from most vulnerable to least:

1. Pedestrians, especially children, older people and disabled people
2. Cyclists
3. Horse riders and motorcyclists
4. Cars and taxis
5. Vans and minibuses
6. Large passenger vehicles and heavy goods vehicles

What it does not say

It does not say that anyone can behave however they like. Cyclists and pedestrians still have responsibilities, and the Code says so explicitly.

What it does is settle the question of who has to give ground when judgement is involved. If you are in a car and someone on foot is hesitating at a kerb, the duty to resolve it safely is yours.

The numbers you need

Passing a cyclist

• At speeds up to 30 mph: at least 1.5 metres.
• At higher speeds: more than that.
• If you cannot give that much room, wait.

A cyclist may need to move suddenly for a pothole, a drain, a gust of wind, or a car door. The space you leave is the space they need to survive doing it.

Passing a horse

• At most 10 mph.
• At least 2 metres.
• Engine quiet, no horn, and no acceleration until you are well past.

Many riders are children, and a frightened horse can move sideways into your path faster than you can react.

Following a motorcyclist

Give them the room you would give a car. They will move within the lane to see past vehicles, to be seen, and to avoid surface hazards that would be trivial on four wheels.

The junction rules

Rule H2 changed what a great many drivers were taught.

• Turning into or out of a side road, give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross it.
• At a zebra crossing, give way to pedestrians waiting to cross, not only those already on it.
• At a parallel crossing, the same applies to cyclists.

Rule H3 covers the other half:

• Do not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse-drawn vehicles going straight ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction. That includes when they are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or simply riding ahead on the road.

Why it matters

These are not points of etiquette. The left-turn-across-a-cyclist collision and the turning-across-a-pedestrian collision are two of the most common ways people are seriously hurt on urban roads.

Both are prevented by the same thing: slowing down enough on the approach that giving way is easy rather than sudden.