Hiya Folks,
In the UK there's a change to the "Highway Code" which is the government rules for road users from next Saturday (29th).
Roughly speaking the changes give (slightly) more rights to pedestrians and cyclists.

The changes are not getting a lot of proper coverage but here's some decent summary articles from the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...nges-will-mean
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...y-code-changes

And here's the official full list of changes changes: https://assets.publishing.service.go...ghway-code.pdf

“may exercise their judgment and are not obliged to use them”
Toss in this for most drivers:
'Motorists shall not subject a cyclist to confrontation in what surface they should occupy'

“hierarchy of road users"
A little refinement to make it fair could drive a better goal for safety, like: 'give way to pedestrians that are civilly active while on shared pathways' . Those aimlessly moving dog walking folks probably have claimed a few too many vintage bicycles & caused one too many broken bones.

I would think a horse (50+ MPH? ) could out run a bicycle, & I would not want to be in an accident with a horse while riding my bicycle. most humans probably average just under half of a horsepower.

In the Highway Code it says "must" and "must not" when it's a legal requirement (it also mentions which law) - and you get prosecuted by the plod if you don't follow those bits.
If you don't follow the other 'advice' bits you're in danger of "reckless driving" which is a catch all for "being an a**hole" and you also get prosecuted.
Do either too many times and your license is taken away for a period of time.


Apparently there's now a hierarchy of risk:

1. Pedestrians
2. Cyclists
3. Horse riders
4. Motorcyclists
5. Cars/taxis
6. Vans/minibuses
7. Large passenger vehicles/heavy goods vehicles

From https://www.which.co.uk/news/2022/01...the-new-rules/.
So that means it's up to horses (or their riders if they're cleverer) to avoid stomping on bicycles.
I don't see dogs on that list, but they should have put cats at the top.

seems that not only capable speed is a factor, but also weight of the moving object. Or, they're just stereotyping, discriminating, & have prejudice when deciding the "hierarchy" ?

Some cyclists probably are less heavier than peds.

Your last line is true, but generally speaking a person plus a bike will be heavier than a person alone. I rather like the marine Rules of the Road, because hierarchy is situationally dependent on the size and maneuverability of the vessel. A small sailboat under wind power, for example, usually has priority over a power-driven vessel, but that isn't true around large power-driven ships over a certain length due to the fact the large ship can't maneuver quickly.

We call those "trains"

Good lord, how many zebras are there in the UK that they get their own crossings?

Anyone correcting me gets a "woooshh".

Also, since kinetic energy is a function of weight AND speed, both should be considered in creating the hierarchy. But, yeah, braking distance and maneuverability really does need to be considered if you're trying to figure out who to yield to in the real world. I don't care what the rule is on paper, I'm going to yield to the moving train and I'm certainly not zipping out in front of a semi..