A number of Highway Code changes came into effect on Saturday, changing the way in which drivers, cyclists and pedestrians share the roads.
Several changes to the guidance affect cyclists in particular and have been introduced in an attempt to improve their safety.
One update asks cyclists to ride in the centre of their lane when travelling on quieter roads, in slower-moving traffic and at the approach to junctions.
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However, when riding on busier roads with vehicles moving faster than them, cyclists should keep at least half a metre (just over 1.5 feet) away from the edge of the curb.
Additionally, the changes mean cyclists get priority on roundabouts, drivers must also leave at least 1.5 metres (5 feet) when overtaking people cycling at speeds of up to 30mph, and are asked to give them even more space when overtaking at higher speeds.
Drivers are also recommended to use a new technique for leaving vehicles - the Dutch Reach - which asks people to open the door using their hand furthest away from it - i.e. using their left hand to open a door on their right-hand side.
This technique means people will turn their head and be able to look over their shoulder behind them, making them less likely to cause injury to people cycling and other road users.
The introduction section of the code has also been changed to include new rules about the new ‘hierarchy of road users’.
The hierarchy places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy.
What do road users think of the changes?
Reaction to the changes to the Highway Code has been mixed.
Former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman tweeted: "It shouldn’t take bravery to ride to school or walk to the shops but sometimes it fees that way.
"These changes simply clarify what safe and courteous road users already do. They ensure those with propensity to cause most harm, carry the most responsibility. The AA and RAC agree."
However, the M.E.N reports campaign group Voters for Motors said they planned to assemble to discuss how they can challenge the new Highway Code.
A spokesperson said: “Our concerns over the Highway Code include the fact that encouraging the undertaking and overtaking of vehicles intending to turn by cyclists will cause more crashes that drivers will be blamed for under the new ‘hierarchy of road users’,” they told MailOnline.
Don Thompson co-chair of the Merseyside Cycling Campaign spoke to the ECHO about the changes to the Highway Code, saying "“On balance, I’ve not seen anything that I can disagree with."
"The comparisons that I’ve seen in one document have been quite minor. So many people just have no idea what’s in the Highway Code. They see these minor changes as dramatic.
"When you look at the size of vehicles, the biggest vehicle should be far more aware of vehicles smaller than them and the smallest vehicle should be aware of cyclists and pedestrians."
Don added that the changes come at the right time, as he believes something needs to be done about the numbers of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured on Liverpool's streets.
Between 2014 and 2018, Liverpool recorded the highest number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on its roads of any metropolitan borough in the country.
He said: "Liverpool City Region has got some of the highest numbers of KSIs (killed or seriously injured) for walkers and child cyclists and it's very scary to think that this region has got these terrible figures.
"These changes to highlight the Highway Code and its contents might do something to stop these terrible figures that we have."
Steve Woods, a cyclist from Liverpool also supports the changes, believing them to be a step towards redressing the balance between cyclists and drivers, rather than drive them apart.
He said: "With the cyclist versus driver thing, it’s like a big division that has sort of set up two teams against each other rather than just people who want to safely arrive at places, which is why the new Highway Code is being drawn up.
"It’s not because of an eco-agenda, it’s because people are dying - on average five a day - on the roads in the UK.
"I think the changes are very positive and shows a hierarchy. People have been like ‘oh it will never work’, but it works abroad.
"The Netherlands have something called ‘Assumed Liability’. It means that the biggest vehicle assumes liability for the accident until proven otherwise. If it was a driver and a cyclist, it would be the driver’s job to say that it wasn’t their fault. They have lower accident rates there because they have better infrastructure."
"I think it’s very positive, but I’m hoping that by opening up a conversation about it, more people will understand the other side - how it feels to be the other side.
"I see all sides - I’m a cyclist, pedestrian, I drive a bus as well, so I see all aspects of movement in the city. I just think that we could do with a bit of give and take.
"A lot of people say that ‘cyclists rule the world’, but we actually don't. It’s just trying to address a balance that’s gone too far in favour of drivers. As a driver myself, I admit that things are too far that way."
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