Great Western Coffee Shop

Basically a test on the proposed changes to the Highway Code
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-54027461 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-54027461)
I didn't get full marks.

6/9. But I regard the 'Dutch Reach' suggestion as ludicrous and will continue to cycle at least 2 door widths away from vehicles whose carelessly opened doors could hit me.

Also I have been advised by 3 local horse riders who I have encountered when out on the bike that calling out (not too loudly) 'bicycle' as a warning prior to overtaking is the much preferred approach and the use of a (usually high pitched) bell is quite likely to spook their animal.

Nine out of nine for me!

...but I was surprised that giving way to pedestrians on side roads is a new thing...

It's not entirely new, but wasn't made a legal requirement before. For both right and left turns, as long ago as 1987 paras 105 and 109 contained: "Give way to pedestrians crossing the road into which you are turning".  By 1999 that had become (para 146): "watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way".

I got 8 out of 9.

But who put the quiz together, on second question there is an Error!!

Caption states "Cyclist is going straight ahead, Car turning left"

But BOTH Car and Cyclist are indicating turning left  ;D ;D

The 1954 Highway Code has: "43. When turning from one road into another make the turn carefully and show consideration for pedestrians".

The 1959 edition is more explicit: "26. When turning at a road junction give way to pedestrians that are crossing"

So the general principle goes back a long way if not exactly how it is expressed. In my experience though too many drivers take it that pedestrians ought to yield priority especially when they are turning left into a side-street just because they have used their indicators.

It may look like an error in the question, but it is actually highlighting an error by the cyclist. It happens regularly close to my home where there are two left hand turns very close together- the first a residential cul-de-sac and the next a cut-through lane. Most cyclists want the second one, but indicate before the first one.

I was brought up with a - perhaps unofficial - "always signal in good time" which I have since learned to modify.   Driving (yes, I can) home from Melksham Town Centre (yes, it has one!)  there is in quick succession
- a right turn into Warwick Crescent
- a left turn into Coronation Road and then
- a right turn into our driveway.

If there was no Warwick Crescent, I would be signalling right in good time to alert traffic behind me ... however I have learned that doing do misleads cars emerging from Coronation Road who will start out from there thinking I am turning;  approaching the whole junction layout slowly is perhaps irritating to people behind me, but then they are already slowed down for my right signal as early as I realistically can, but still unusually late.

I do have a high-Vis vest on the coatrack in the hall, rapidly grabbed each time we hear a bump on the road outside / at that corner.  Usually slow speed stuff, but a corner to treat with care!

When I learnt to drive it was Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre. Nowadays that appears to have been reversed to Manoeuvre, Signal, Mirror (presumably to check for squashed pedestrians/cyclists after you have gone round the corner).

The question I got wrong was on lane positioning. Couldn't remember if what I normally do was what was in the proposed Highway Code. Another good reason for riding in the centre of the lane (primary position), as opposed to the gutter, is that you stand a chance of the traffic light sensors detecting you and the lights changing.

I remember someone who learnt to drive in London telling me that the meaning of flashing amber lights on the corners of motor vehicles was 'I am turning, or have just turned'. What's the point in that? I asked. 'Insurance.' they replied 'so you can say you indicated if you hit anyone'.

All correct, to my relief. I have the advantage of cycling for over 40 years before taking my driving test quite recently.  There's been a marked change in emphasis already in the last few years, and I do tend to notice many newer drivers are far better at anticipating things (for instance slowing down ready for the pedestrian who is about to step onto a zebra rather than only slamming on the brakes at the last moment when they actually do).

The Dutch Reach incidentally is as well as the cyclist keeping well out, not instead of, and I do wonder if horses that are easily spooked by a bike bell are really suitable to be taken out on public roads.

I agree that horses liable to be spooked by a bicycle bell are not suited to use on a public road.
I assisted a neighbour in training a horse to accustom the animal to unexpected sights and noises. The ringing of a bicycle bell, the sounding a vehicle horn, flapping a bed sheet, the opening of an umbrella, the bursting of balloons and firing a gun all featured.
At a considerable distance initially but gradually closer  until the horse was used to such.

The animal is now considered reliable on the road. Only two things frighten her now, hot air balloons if low flying and seagulls, if very nearby.