Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of DVLA's programme of education of updates to the Highway Code for licence holders.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) promote changes to The Highway Code on the Government's flagship road safety campaign THINK! and its social media channels and via partner organisations.

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 1.5 metres when passing a cyclist all or most of the time. 79% of drivers claim to pass horse riders and horse drawn vehicles with at least 2 metres distance and at under 10mph all or most of the time. Of the respondents that recognised the 30 second hero assets from Phase 3, nine in ten (90%) said they had done something as a result.

DfT and DVSA continue to monitor attitudes and behaviours towards vulnerable road users as part of our ongoing campaign planning cycle.