Highway Code changes UK: what the latest updates cover

Highway Code changes UK drivers should know about are recorded on GOV.UK, and the official update log does not support the claim that new rules for over-70s drivers and vehicle modifications are coming into force this month. The most recent entries cover parking in Scotland (2025), the 20mph default limit in Wales (2023) and a large package of rules protecting pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders (2022). This explainer sets out what those changes say, when they took effect and what drivers can do to stay up to date.

Reported.News checked the primary sources only: the GOV.UK updates page for The Highway Code, the Department for Transport-backed THINK! campaign page, and the Highway Code text itself. We have not found any official wording on age-related driving rules or modification penalties, so we do not report them.

Highway Code changes UK: the short answer

The Highway Code is updated by amending individual rules, and GOV.UK keeps a running log of each change. The log’s most recent year, 2025, records two clarifications for Scotland. Rule 243 now makes clear that drivers must not park anywhere the kerb has been lowered, and rule 244 makes clear that drivers must not park partially or wholly on the pavement.

Before that, in 2023, rules 113 and 124 were updated because the national speed limit for built-up areas in Wales changed from 30mph to 20mph. The Restricted Roads (20mph Speed Limit) Order 2022 was added to the list of legislation. The Code now describes street-lit roads as generally restricted to 30mph, or 20mph in Wales, unless otherwise specified.

The widest-reaching revision came in 2022. GOV.UK said the rules for all road users were updated "to improve the safety of people walking, cycling and riding horses". Those changes are the ones most drivers still need to understand, and they are covered in detail below.

On the angle that prompted this article, the sources are silent. The update log contains no entry about drivers over 70, and none about modified vehicles. If new rules on either were published, they would appear on the same page, and readers should treat claims of imminent fines with caution until they do.

What has changed in the Highway Code, and how the updates work

The 2022 revision followed a public consultation on a review of the Code that ran from July to October 2020. According to GOV.UK, it received more than 20,000 responses from the public, businesses and other organisations, and most respondents were in favour of all the changes. The changes were made to the Code on Saturday 29 January 2022.

The centrepiece is a new "hierarchy of road users", set out in three new rules numbered H1, H2 and H3. GOV.UK said the hierarchy "places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top" and "does not remove the need for everyone to behave responsibly". Rule H1 covers knowing the Code and reducing the danger you pose to others, H2 covers giving way to pedestrians, and H3 covers not cutting across cyclists.

Pedestrians and crossings

When people are crossing or waiting to cross at a junction, other traffic should give way. If people have started crossing and a vehicle wants to turn into the road, the people crossing have priority. Drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists must give way to people on a zebra crossing, and to people walking and cycling on a parallel crossing, which GOV.UK describes as similar to a zebra crossing but with a cycle route alongside the stripes.

Overtaking and passing distances

The Code now gives specific clearances. GOV.UK said drivers and motorcyclists should leave at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph, and more space at higher speeds. They should pass horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles at under 10mph, leaving at least 2 metres (6.5 feet), and allow at least 2 metres and keep to a low speed when passing people walking in the road. If those clearances cannot be met, drivers should wait behind and not overtake.

Cyclists at junctions and on roundabouts

The Code says cyclists going straight ahead at a junction have priority over traffic waiting to turn into or out of a side road, unless signs or markings say otherwise. Drivers and motorcyclists should give priority to cyclists on roundabouts. Rule 167 also advises drivers not to cut across cyclists going ahead, including those in cycle lanes and on cycle tracks.

Some junctions now include small cycle traffic lights at eye level, which may let cyclists move separately from or before other traffic. The Code also describes a two-stage right turn for cyclists where signs and markings show one.

Key dates: from 2022 to 2025

The update log is short on detail about months, so the table below records the years and the changes exactly as GOV.UK lists them. The 2022 entry is the only one with a precise date, which comes from the GOV.UK news article.

Compared with those entries, the 2022 package was the largest by some distance. It altered dozens of rules, renumbered the guidance on junctions and roundabouts, and merged several older rules together. The 2023 and 2025 entries, by contrast, are narrow clarifications limited to one nation each.

The THINK! campaign, which sits alongside the Department for Transport’s road safety work, ran in two phases after the 2022 changes. The first, in February, raised awareness of the changes under the message "Check the changes, let’s keep each other safe". The second, in July, sought to drive behaviour change.

What the changes mean for drivers in practice

A worked example shows how the passing distances fit together. Suppose a cyclist is passing parked cars and leaves 1 metre from them, which is the door-opening distance the Code recommends as an alternative to a door’s width. A driver overtaking at up to 30mph must then leave at least 1.5 metres from that cyclist. By our arithmetic, that places the side of the overtaking vehicle at least 2.5 metres from the line of parked cars, which is often more than a narrow residential street offers. In that case the Code’s answer is to wait behind.

The gap grows for other road users. A horse rider needs 2 metres, half a metre more than a cyclist, and the driver should also be travelling at under 10mph. On a narrow lane with no pavement, the same 2 metres applies to a person walking in the road.

On enforcement, the sources are more limited than many headlines. The Code’s contents page lists a section on the consequences of not following the rules, and another on penalties, including points and disqualification and a penalty table. Within the rules themselves, those marked "MUST" are followed by a reference to the law behind them, while rules using "should" are advice. We have not been given any penalty figures in the sources, so we do not quote any.

One rule outside the cycling package deserves mention. Rule 107 says Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officers, the DVSA, have the power to stop vehicles on all roads, including motorways and trunk roads. They signal with flashing amber lights, and the Code says it is an offence not to comply with their directions.

What to do now

Drivers who want to be sure they are following the current rules can take four steps. First, read the update log on GOV.UK, which lists each change by year and rule number. Second, sign up for the email alerts that GOV.UK offers for rule changes. Third, check the sections most affected by the 2022 revision, particularly rules H1 to H3, 72 to 82 on junctions and roundabouts, and 163 on overtaking. Fourth, if you drive in Scotland or Wales, read rules 243 and 244 or rules 113 and 124 respectively.

Any claim that a new rule affects a specific group, such as over-70s drivers, should be checked against that same log. If it is not listed there, it is not an update to the Code. Government announcements about licensing or vehicle standards are separate from the Code and would be published on GOV.UK in their own right.

Your questions answered

What are the new driving rules in the UK?

The most significant recent changes took effect on Saturday 29 January 2022. They introduced the hierarchy of road users, gave pedestrians priority at junctions, gave cyclists priority when going straight ahead, and set minimum passing distances of 1.5 metres for cyclists and 2 metres for horse riders and people walking in the road. Later entries cover the 20mph limit in Wales (2023) and parking in Scotland (2025). The official update log shows no new rules aimed specifically at over-70s drivers or modified vehicles.

Can you download The Highway Code for free?

The Highway Code is published section by section on GOV.UK, so the full text can be read online. The GOV.UK summary page also lists ways to buy it: you can order the book online, buy it from most high street bookshops, or buy the app for Apple or Android devices. The sources we reviewed do not mention a free downloadable file, so we cannot confirm one exists.

Do the rules apply across the whole UK?

The Code covers Great Britain, and some entries are specific to one nation. The 20mph default in built-up areas applies in Wales, and the parking clarifications in rules 243 and 244 apply in Scotland. The 2022 changes were described by GOV.UK as applying to all types of road user.

Where can I check for future changes?

The GOV.UK updates page for The Highway Code is the primary record, and the main Highway Code page offers email alerts when the rules change. It also lists a Facebook page that you can follow.