Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the level of public awareness of changes to the highway code made in 2022.

The January 2022 changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding have been communicated via a factual awareness raising campaign and broader behaviour change campaigns.

Over £2.4million has been spent on media across the campaign, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.

Results from the most recent campaign activity in August 2023 include:

• Awareness: The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes in September 2023 was at 70% among all road users (82% amongst drivers), with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by September 2023.

• Understanding: In September 2023 86% of drivers correctly identified that you should leave at least 1.5 metres of space when passing cyclists. Pedestrian priority at junctions was correctly identified by 77% of drivers.

• Empathy: Drivers agreeing that it is their responsibility to respect and give space to vulnerable road users remains consistently high and was at 93% in September 2023.

• Action: In September 2023 81% of drivers claim to leave a gap of 1.5M when passing a cyclist all or most of the time.

We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.