The government's failure to alert road users to changes to the Highway Code has been slammed by Labour as 'utterly reckless'.
The Department for Transport (DfT) had promised a campaign to highlight the new rules, which came into force on January 29, but it has still not surfaced.
The AA found that one in three road users were unaware of the new rules before they came into force, and has now accused the government of being “far too silent” on the changes.
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Under the latest Highway Code revamp, nine sections have been updated, while 50 rules have been added or amended.
The new code includes a new “hierarchy of road users” as well as a new responsibility for drivers to give way to pedestrians at junctions.
Other adjustments include cyclists being advised to ride in the centre of lanes on quieter roads, in slower-moving traffic, and when approaching junctions, to make themselves as visible as possible.
When asked about plans to publicise changes, junior transport minister Trudy Harrison said the changes would be communicated "in two phases".
She said there would be "a factual awareness-raising campaign in early February, alerting road users to the changes as they come into effect" followed by a "broader behaviour change campaign later in the year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the new guidance".
Labour’s shadow minister for roads, Gill Furniss, told the Mirror this week that the government’s publicity campaign “will simply come too late when the changes are already in force".
"Failing to communicate these important new rules governing our roads until weeks after they were implemented is utterly reckless," she said.
It comes after junior transport minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton told peers in the House of Lords that the changes to the Highway Code were “not that significant”.
She said: "If as a pedestrian, you start to cross the road, you already have priority; there has been no change in that regard.
"There was already guidance as to where cyclists should ride on the road; we are just clarifying what is reasonable and what is not."
A DfT spokesman said: “The new Highway Code will improve safety for everyone, but particularly for vulnerable road users, by ensuring pedestrians have priority crossing at a side road or junction.
“The government’s award-winning THINK! campaign is launching a communications drive, backed by over £500,000 in funding, raising awareness of the changes and ensuring road-users across the country understand their responsibilities.
“The campaign will run across radio and social media channels, with further campaign activity to follow later in the summer.”
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