O'Toole, Sarah;
Christie, Nicola;
Poulter, Damian;
(2025)
Driver compliance with the 2022 UK highway code rule on giving way to pedestrians at side roads: A naturalistic observation study.
Journal of Urban Mobility
, 8
, Article 100140. 10.1016/j.urbmob.2025.100140.
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Abstract
The 2022 update to the UK Highway Code introduced a new H2 rule granting pedestrians right of way at side road junctions. However, the communication campaign for this change was limited and there has yet to be a systematic evaluation of driver compliance. This study therefore involved a naturalistic observation of driver yielding behaviour when turning from a main road into a side road. A total of 809 driver-pedestrian interactions were observed to assess compliance with the rule, alongside driver, vehicle, pedestrian, and environmental characteristics. Results indicated that only 31 % of drivers complied with the rule when turning from a main road into a side road where pedestrians were approaching or waiting at a junction to cross. However, female drivers and taxi drivers were more likely to yield to pedestrians at junctions. Further, compliance was greater when there was a group of pedestrians opposed to a single pedestrian or when it was early afternoon. These findings suggest further interventions may be necessary to enhance adherence and improve pedestrian safety.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Driver compliance with the 2022 UK highway code rule on giving way to pedestrians at side roads: A naturalistic observation study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.urbmob.2025.100140 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2025.100140 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Highway code, Driver compliance, Pedestrian safety, Naturalistic observation, Traffic policy, Yielding behavior |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212008 |
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