A new addition to the Highway Code dictates how motorists open their car door after parking.
The new piece of advice is designed to protect more vulnerable road users.
The full changes to the Highway Code, which come into force next weekend, include a new road hierarchy, rules for signalling on roundabouts and further limiting the use of technology behind the wheel.
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A method called the ‘Dutch Reach’ will become the recommended way of exiting a vehicle and it has a very specific technique, reported DevonLive.
Instead of blindly opening a door, the ‘Dutch Reach’ requires you to use the hand furthest away from the door to open it – if you’re the one behind the wheel, you’d use your left hand and on the passenger side, you would use your right.
The ‘Dutch Reach’ is a common practice in The Netherlands and will soon be suggested to British motorists
(Image: Cambridge News)
This technique means drivers are forced to turn their bodies towards the door and look over their shoulders as they go to leave their car.
The over-the-shoulder look as you reach for your door handle is a vital part of the method.
By doing this, they will get sight of any cyclists or pedestrians passing by the car that they may have missed if they hadn’t checked.
Extensive campaigning on the ‘Dutch Reach’ by Cycling UK has been key to the implementation of the new advice.
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Cycling UK estimates that over 500 people in the UK are injured annually by motorists opening a car door into someone’s cycle path.
The issue was further brought into the public eye in 2016 when Chris Grayling, who was then serving as Transport Secretary, was caught knocking a cyclist off their bike when opening his door on Whitehall.
This technique is borrowed from the Netherlands, where it has always been used as standard for exiting a vehicle – hence the name, ‘Dutch Reach.’
The latest addition of the Highway Code and the legal enforcement of new rules, comes into force on Saturday 29 January.
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