Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Did you see that H2 licence change, where if you are turning off the main road onto a side road and if there is a pedestrian on the side road pavement, looking as though he may want to cross the road, you are supposed to stop for them.
Possible problems: Some pedestrian loiter on the pavement, cars are often parked at the side of the road obstructing the view( I know that its illegal but the police turn a blind eye), suddenling stopping on a main road risks vehicals following running into you.
Is this another not so smart example?

I'm not so sure this is as big a change as has been made out...IIRC it was in the small print that you had to give way to pedestrians in this situation, anyway, if they were stepping off the kerb.
What worries me is that the onus on everyone to look out for themselves and others seems to have been swept away in the 'hierarchy of road users'.
When I was a child (5 years old) we were taught "Look both ways before you cross the street."
It was generally accepted that a child out of infants would be competent to walk on the road, cross the road etc, without an adult and we were taught accordingly.
Now it seems that even adults on foot or cycling are to be treated as babies, and are not responsible for their actions. This includes stepping out into a busy road while engaged in a Zoom meeting.
My sister and I walked each other to school aged 5 and 7, and when I was 10 - 11 I was collecting my baby bro from the childminder after school and pushing him home in a Silver Cross pram the size of a small bus.
Try that today, and Social Services would probably be involved.

I got pulled up on this when taking my test in 1982, it's not new and up until recently I thought I was the only person who knew of it.

I believe in Switzerland that in towns pedestrians have the right of way at all times and will simply walk across the road at their leisure without looking--and you are supposed to stop!--I'm going back maybe 4 or 5 years when I experienced this--difficult to get your head around when on two wheels--and you need to be aware of the "rules".

I have always taken it that they have the right if way. As an hgv driver I know that if I hit a cyclist or pedestrian I will automatically be viewed as the guilty party (until proven not guilty) so I avoid the situation at all cost.
This week, on the main A5 dual carriageway, a cyclist was weaving the full width of lane 1 to force vehicles to move into lane 2, he was so far over that a car undertook him to avoid an accident. I get his point about giving him space but forcing cars doing 70mph to take avoiding action was reckless.
I agree that the 'new rules' may appear to be overplayed but if it reminds drivers of their responsibilities then it's a good idea ....... aslong as selfrighteous cyclists and pedestrians don't cause accidents just to prove a point.

Some of those muppets will do anything for a few seconds of YouTube.

This has been law in Germany for years as I found out years ago when some lunatic walked out in front of me in Munich. It was close so I dished out a bollocking as he looked at me before stepping out.
I was very sternly reminded by a policeman standing nearby what I should be doing

If the cyclist is weaving all over the road he can be prosecuted for dangerous ridding, they may think that people will not be able to recognise them, but like my bikes, most of us have cameras and other hi tech devices on our bikes to protect us from all the dangers on the road, probably most of them are Homo Sapien related.

Pedestrians have right of way in Norway on zebra crossings. Not a problem at all, except when you are not
a pedestrian (cyclist, scooter, etc) then you have no right of way, which some people tend to forget, at their loss

Had my first experience of the changes today. Sat at a roundabout waiting to go straight across. A car joins from the junction before mine indicating he wants the junction after mine. He passes me, I pull out, he then stops dead before the exit blocking the road to allow 3 youths with headphones on who were approaching the junction to walk across. Good observation and braking test for me as he stopped virtually in front of me!

Back in the day he would have used his horn, they would have stopped not him and all would have been fine!