Tag Archives: travel safety

Are You Aware of The 2022 Highway Code Changes?

There are some new Highway Code rules which will be coming into effect on the 29th January 2022, to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. These changes will create greater responsibility for drivers. Three of the biggest Highway Code changes have been explained below.

Rule H1: New Hierarchy of Road Users. Drivers of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce danger to others.

Rule H2: New Priority for Pedestrians at Junctions. At a junction, drivers, motorcyclists, horse riders and cyclists should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. You should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a zebra crossing (currently you only have to give way if they are already on the crossing), and to pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross a parallel crossing.

Rule H3: New Priority for Cyclists When Cars are Turning. You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane. This applies whether they are using a cycle lane/track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them. Do not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the cyclist, horse rider, or horse drawn vehicle going ahead to stop or swerve. You should stop and wait for a safe gap in the flow of cyclists if necessary.

It is vital to stay up to date with the Highway Code and it is easy to keep updated online:

GOV.UK provides a list of the latest Highway Code updates and let’s you see what has been amended. It also allows you to search for key words and phrases within The Highway Code, quickly move between related rules, follow links to the original laws that the rules are based on and print sections.
You can also sign up for email alerts and be notified whenever the Highway Code is being updated.
Follow @HighwayCodeGB on Twitter or Facebook for news of any updates and regular road safety reminders.
There is also the Official Highway Code app.

Planning your Journey: during adverse weather

As the weather is beginning to get colder, it is important that you understand what to do during adverse weather. The Transport Team’s Travel During Adverse Weather page has been updated with relevant information to ensure you know what to do if adverse weather occurs.

The team have also created a Top tips to help you plan your journey in advance of travelling in snow, ice, high winds and torrential rain to ensure you are always prepared for travel disruption and are winter ready. In addition, the Transport Team’s Planning your Journey pages are updated regularly with useful journey planning tools and advice to assist you. Remember the weather can change at any time, you should be prepared for this before you start your journey.

Where possible the Transport Team will endeavour to keep the @unikent_travel twitter feed updated with all transport information and any travel disruptions on or around our campuses.

Driving:

Ensure that you and your vehicle are prepared for driving in adverse weather conditions. Read some top tips to prepare for driving during the winter and don’t forget to plan your journey before you leave so you are aware of any disruptions.

Public transport, cycling and walking:

Plan your journey, check if there are problems on public transport or local roads
Delay your journey, if possible, to allow temperatures to rise and ice or snow to melt
Avoid footways in the shade. It takes longer for ice or snow to melt in the shade
Always wear appropriate footwear and reflective/bright clothing
Ensure that you have a torch or lights so motorists and others can see you when walking or cycling. Think Be Bright Be Seen .

Other Useful Links:

COVID-19 Update (30/11/21): The UK rules have changed

Following the updated Government guidance in response to the new Covid-19 variant, there are some changes to the rules in the UK.

From Today (Tuesday 30 November 2021):

Face coverings are a legal requirement in shops and on all UK public transport. You must wear a face covering throughout your journey, unless you have medical exemptions. This is the law.
On campus, face coverings will be expected in all teaching spaces and communal areas. In shared offices and other spaces, face coverings should also be worn where social distancing cannot be maintained, unless you have medical exemptions.
International Travel – you must follow the rules for international travel. You should not travel to countries or territories on the red list.
If you are planning to travel to England, you should follow the guidance on entering the UK and find out which list the country you are travelling from is on and what you need to do.
If you are travelling to the UK from abroad, you will need to take a PCR test, regardless of whether you have symptoms.

University of Kent Links:

COVID-19 Travel Page – regularly updated with COVID-19 travel information.
Coronavirus Page – University of Kent Coronavirus page has useful links and detailed information on the University’s response.

Useful Transport Links:

The following links explain what the travel providers are doing to keep their services COVID-friendly and what is expected from passengers during this time to ensure that you can travel in confidence.

Government Guidance Links:

Social Media Competition

We would like to encourage our students and staff to interact with @unikent_travel on social media. Therefore, we have created a Transport competition with prizes.

The prizes include vouchers for various food outlets on Canterbury campus and the winner will be announced on Friday 17 December 2021.

To enter the competition:

Get a picture – this can be a photo you have taken or one that you have created.
Think of a good caption – either promoting road safety or sustainable travel home for Christmas.
Post the image and caption – you can post this on Twitter and/or Instagram.
Tag @unikent_travel in your post to enter the competition.

Travel Safe and Be Seen

It is that time of year when the clocks go back (31st October), meaning the days are shorter and the nights are longer. It is now more likely you will be travelling during non-daylight hours.

Watch the films below and count how many people you can see at the beginning of each film and at the end of each film.

Who did you see first and why?

Whichever mode of transport you decide to use there are things you can do to make sure other road users can see you. This can range from wearing something that is bright and reflective, ensuring your vehicle is clean, your lights are working or simply using your torch.

Find more advice on our travel safety page.

Transport News

This blog is used for broadcasting information about transport and parking at the University of Kent.

Tag Archives: travel safety

COVID-19 Update (30/11/21): The UK rules have changed

Travel Safe and Be Seen