Mirfield councillor calls for better education on changes to Highway Code

Coun Martyn Bolt (Con), who represents Mirfield on Kirklees Council, claimed some local authorities were better than others is publicising the changes.

At a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport committee on Friday, Coun Bolt urged the authority, which represents all five West Yorkshire Councils, to do more to highlight the changes.

Introduced in January, the Highway Code changes give greater priority to cyclists and pedestrians.

Among the changes are rules that cars, motorbikes and cyclists should give way to pedestrians crossing, or waiting to cross, a road that their vehicle is turning into.

If motorists are making a left turn, they must not cut in front of cyclists who are going forward.

The changes have angered some motorists, who believe they should have absolute priority on the road.

At Friday’s meeting Coun Bolt said: “Calderdale has been pro-active in communicating the changes to the Highway Code.

“As a transport authority I’d like to see us being a lot more proactive, maybe running bus back adverts to inform motorists of the new teachings?”

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the committee, admitted she hadn’t been as good at communicating the changes as she could have been, and said: “This is something that our communications team should take away to look at.”

Shortly before the proposed changes came into play, a worrying survey by the AA found that a third of motorists were unaware of the shake-up.