If you passed your driving test more than a few years ago, there’s a good chance the rules of the road have moved on without you. New research from the National Accident Helpline has found that almost 90 individual amendments have been made to the Highway Code since 2020, yet around two-thirds of UK licence holders say they’ve never gone back to refresh their knowledge since the day they passed their test.
It’s an easy thing to let slide. Once you’ve got your licence, the Highway Code tends to become something you half-remember rather than something you actively check. But the survey suggests that gap in knowledge is wider than most of us probably realise. Less than half of drivers said they felt confident they understood the current rules, and a similar proportion weren’t aware of recent updates at all.
A few specific examples stood out. Only around one in five drivers knew that cyclists are allowed to pass slow-moving or stationary traffic on either side of a vehicle, a rule that’s been part of the code for a while now but clearly hasn’t filtered through to everyone. Just over half correctly knew that drivers should give way to pedestrians who are waiting to cross at a junction. And roughly a third weren’t aware of the current restrictions around hand-held phone use while driving, an area where the rules have genuinely tightened in recent years.
Part of the problem seems to be that most people simply aren’t looking in the right places. When asked how they find out about rule changes, the most common answer was general news coverage, followed by social media, with only a small fraction relying on official Highway Code updates directly. In fact, fewer than half a million people are signed up to receive official alerts, out of around 41 million licence holders in the UK. That’s a tiny fraction of drivers getting changes straight from the source, which goes some way to explaining why awareness lags behind.
Why does any of this matter beyond general road safety? Because not knowing a rule isn’t a defence if you’re pulled over or involved in an incident. Several of the changes made since 2020 carry real penalties attached, from fixed penalty notices through to points on your licence, and in more serious cases, prosecution. It’s not about catching drivers out. It’s simply that the rules have shifted in places, and it’s worth knowing where.
The good news is that catching up doesn’t take long. The Highway Code itself is freely available online, and it’s worth scanning through every so often, particularly the sections on priority at junctions, cyclists and pedestrians, and anything to do with phone use and distraction, since those are the areas this research suggests catch people out most. If you drive for work, or your household has a mix of newer and more experienced drivers, it’s a genuinely useful five minutes to spend together.
None of this is about dramatic new rules nobody could have predicted. It’s smaller, cumulative changes that are easy to miss unless you’re deliberately looking. A quick refresh now and then costs nothing and could save you a fine, or worse, down the line.