Road safety and accident prevention are very important in the UK. Every year since 2017, the rules surrounding appropriate road safety have been regularly updated to ensure that there are fewer accidents due to quality faults in vehicles or careless behavior on the part of drivers.
These regularly changing rules mean that drivers #DrivingIn2019 need to constantly update their knowledge about what is and is not permissible. This can be difficult if you do not know where to go. Fortunately, the good people at Kwik Fit put together a short e-book that details the changes in the rules and how it will affect drivers.
We took some time to go through this book, and here is what we think of the new rules of the road.
Covering MOT’s
The first section of the ebook covers the MOT, and it does a good job of showing how much thought the government has put into helping vehicle drivers be responsible for keeping the roads safe. The new MOT categories place vehicles on different levels of safety, and the test immediately shows car owners where their vehicles stand and what they will need to do to keep their vehicles in acceptable conditions.
Improved Safety Tests
To be sure your vehicle is truly safe, it needs to pass certain tests. A third of the road accidents that occurred in 2015 in which vehicle defects were an issue were caused by underinflated, defective or illegal tires. In 2018, research conducted across different garages found that almost eight million drivers in the UK used contaminated brake fluid. Adding safety tests that cover these sometimes forgettable issues goes a long way to making sure that drivers’ lives are not put in danger on account of preventable errors.
More Learning Opportunities and Better Navigation
The addition of driving on the motorways as part of the learning requirements means learner drivers get adequate lessons on how to handle what can be a totally harrowing experience for first-timers. Also, adding sat-nav to the driving tests is a good step in the direction of a more digital society. The introduction of a graduated drivers license also adds a layer of responsibility that new drivers will be safer for adopting.
Leaning Green
In a world where we are all trying to reduce our carbon footprint on the world, every government has to do what it can to encourage citizens to leave unhealthy technology behind. Increasing the car tax and parking fees for diesel cars ensures that over time, drivers will be more likely to buy more eco-friendly cars. This would be a great outcome for the UK and the world all over.
Thinking About Others
According to the new rules explained in the Kwik Fit book, the new road rules encourages drivers to look out for the wellbeing of cyclists; mandating that drivers give them a wider berth when overtaking, and using the Dutch reach when opening doors to prevent “car dooring”. These rules will help drivers be more careful and think about their two-wheeled road neighbors.
And that is it! If you would like to read the e-book by Kwik Fit to really understand the new rules and regulations, you can find it by visiting their site.
