Recent Highway Code changes

Several Highway Code updates have reshaped the theory test in the last four years — the 29 January 2022 revisions (8 themed changes spanning new H-rules and dozens of updated rule numbers, including the Hierarchy of Road Users), the 25 March 2022 mobile-phone tightening, the introduction's new 1 July 2022 section on self-driving vehicles, the 27 July 2022 Annex 5 update reflecting the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 penalty uplift for causing death by dangerous driving, the 17 September 2023 Wales 20 mph default, the 10 April 2025 Scotland pavement-parking clarification (Rules 243 and 244), the 22 October 2025 traffic-sign update for "buses and cycles only" and "trams only" signs, and the CPR and AED questions added to the question bank from 2026. Below: the substantive rule-text and annex changes since 2022 with the rule numbers and the before-and-after — then the pre-2022 changes back to 2014, and a cut of the whole lot by the year you passed.

Rules for all types of road users have been updated in The Highway Code to improve the safety of people walking, cycling and riding horses.

29 January 2022 — the eight rule changes

Eight themed changes landed in one go. Three brand-new rules were added at the top of the code (H1, H2, H3) and more than 40 existing rules were rewritten or renumbered. All eight changes are routinely tested.

1. Hierarchy of Road Users — Rules H1, H2, H3

The introduction now opens with a hierarchy that ranks road users by how much harm they can cause to others. Pedestrians sit at the top; HGVs at the bottom. Those who can do the most harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce risk.

• Rule H1: Every road user should know the Code and look out for those most at risk. Drivers of larger vehicles bear the greater responsibility.
• Rule H2 (drivers, motorcyclists, horse drawn vehicles, horse riders and cyclists): At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. You MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and to pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing (see Rule 195).
• Rule H3 (drivers and motorcyclists): You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle. This applies whether they are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them. Do not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the cyclist, horse rider or horse drawn vehicle going straight ahead to stop or swerve. You should stop and wait for a safe gap in the flow of cyclists if necessary. This includes when cyclists are:
  • approaching, passing or moving off from a junction
  • moving past or waiting alongside stationary or slow-moving traffic
  • travelling around a roundabout

The catch: H1 and H3 are “should” guidance, and the first half of H2 is too — but the zebra and parallel-crossing portion of H2 is a MUST. Failing to follow any of these can be used in evidence against a driver in court, and the theory test treats them as the expected behaviour.

2. People crossing the road at junctions — Rule 170

Before: Rule 170 asked drivers to watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which they were turning, and gave priority only to pedestrians who had already started to cross.

After: Rule 170 now says give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. The waiting case is the half that catches drivers out.

3. Walking, cycling and horse-riding in shared spaces — Rule 63

Cyclists must take care when passing pedestrians, horse riders or horse-drawn vehicles — especially children, older adults or disabled people. Cyclists should slow down, let walkers know they are there (a bell or a polite call) and not pass closely or at high speed, particularly from behind. On shared cycle tracks Rule H2 directs cyclists to give way to pedestrians.

4. Cyclist positioning on the road — Rules 72 and 66

Cyclists are now explicitly advised (Rule 72) to ride in the centre of their lane on quiet roads, slow-moving traffic and at junctions. On busier roads with faster traffic, Rule 72 says cyclists should allow drivers to overtake where safe to do so while keeping at least 0.5 metres away from the kerb edge — and further where it is safer to do so. Groups of cyclists may ride 2 abreast (Rule 66) — particularly safer when riding in larger groups or with children — but should be aware of drivers behind and allow them to overtake when safe. (DfT's 29 January 2022 press release grouped this with Rule 67 on passing parked vehicles and Rule 213, which states the same positioning guidance from the driver's side.)

5. Overtaking people cycling or on horseback — Rule 163

The clearance distances were quantified for the first time:

• Cyclists: at least 1.5 metres at speeds up to 30 mph; more at higher speeds.
• Horses and horse-drawn vehicles: pass at under 10 mph and allow at least 2 metres of space.
• Pedestrians in the road: at least 2 metres of space and keep to a low speed.

6. People cycling at junctions — Rule 76

Cyclists going straight ahead at a junction have priority over traffic waiting to turn into or out of the side road, unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise (Rule 76). Where the junction has dedicated cycle facilities — separate cycle traffic lights or a cycle lane through the junction — cyclists should use them (Rule 73); at junctions without those facilities, Rule 73 directs cyclists to follow the same priority rules as other traffic (see Rules 170 to 190).

7. People cycling at roundabouts — Rule 186

Drivers should give priority to cyclists on the roundabout and watch carefully for them. Cyclists, horse riders and horse drawn vehicles may stay in the left-hand lane when they intend to continue across or around the roundabout, and should signal right to show they are not leaving. Take extra care entering a roundabout so that you do not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles in the left-hand lane who are continuing around it.

8. Opening vehicle doors — “the Dutch Reach” — Rule 239

Where you are able to do so, you should open the door using your hand on the opposite side to the door you are opening — for example, use your left hand to open a door on your right-hand side. This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder, so you are then more likely to avoid causing injury to cyclists or motorcyclists passing you on the road, or to people on the pavement.

25 March 2022 — mobile phone tightening (Rule 149)

Before: Drivers could be charged with using a hand-held mobile phone only if it was being used for an “interactive communication function” (call, text, browsing). Stationary scrolling or photo-taking sometimes escaped prosecution under that narrower definition.

After: From 25 March 2022 it is illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet or any similar device for any use — including taking photos or videos, scrolling through playlists, using a camera, or playing games. The change closed the loophole that had let drivers escape conviction when they were not actively communicating. The fixed-penalty notice is 6 points and a £200 fine; cases that go to court can carry a fine of up to £1,000 (£2,500 for a lorry or bus). For a new driver inside the 2-year probation, the 6-point endorsement causes automatic licence revocation.

The narrow exception remains: a hands-free or built-in vehicle system you do not pick up is legal. Genuine 999/112 emergencies (when it is unsafe or impractical to stop) and contactless payment to a payment terminal while the vehicle is stationary are also exempt under Reg 110 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.

1 July 2022 — self-driving vehicles section added to the introduction

On 1 July 2022, a new section on self-driving vehicles was added to the Highway Code's introduction. It reflects the framework set out in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018: the driver is not responsible for the way a self-driving vehicle drives itself while it is in self-driving mode, but the technology must be designed for the driver to take back control safely. The driver must be ready to resume control when prompted, and stays responsible for everything not covered by the self-driving function (insurance, fitness to drive, fitness of the vehicle). The change underpins the way Rule 150 handles driver-assistance systems — motorway assist, lane departure warnings, or remote control parking — on conventional cars; see also the 25 March 2022 update above for the related mobile-phone tightening.

27 July 2022 — Annex 5 penalty uplift for causing death by dangerous driving

On 27 July 2022, Annex 5 (Penalties) was updated to reflect the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which raised the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, and for causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs, from 14 years' imprisonment to life imprisonment. Annex 4 (The road user and the law) was updated the same day, replacing the older Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 with the Sentencing Act 2020 in its list of legislation. The PCSC Act 2022 brought the new maximum into force on 28 June 2022; the Highway Code annex caught up four weeks later.

For the theory test: penalty-table questions on death-by-dangerous-driving now expect the "life imprisonment" answer, not "14 years". Older revision materials printed before mid-2022 still show 14 years — make sure your study source is post-July 2022.

17 September 2023 — Wales default 20 mph in built-up areas (Rules 113 and 124)

From 17 September 2023, the default national speed limit on restricted roads in Wales dropped from 30 mph to 20 mph. Rules 113 and 124 of the Highway Code were updated to reflect this. The change applies to most residential streets and many town centres in Wales; signed limits override the default where they appear. The English and Scottish default remains 30 mph on restricted roads.

For the theory test: questions on speed limits and signs that originate in Wales now expect the 20 mph baseline. Sign-recognition questions are unchanged — a 30 mph or 20 mph repeater sign means what it says — but a Welsh restricted-road scenario with no posted limit will assume 20 mph.

2022–2023 — smart motorway programme paused, then cancelled

15 April 2023: the Department for Transport announced that all new smart motorway schemes were cancelled — including 11 already paused from the second Road Investment Strategy (2020–2025) and 3 earmarked for the third (2025–2030). The existing smart motorway network (mostly all-lane-running, no hard shoulder) remains in operation; the £900m safety programme has since delivered 151 extra emergency areas — the retrofit completed in spring 2025, leaving around 50% more emergency areas than in January 2022 — alongside improved stopped-vehicle detection technology, but the hard shoulder is not being reinstated .

For the theory test, this means the rules on smart motorways still apply: Red X means leave the lane (Rule 258); an all-lane-running motorway has no hard shoulder at all — what looks like one is a permanent running lane — and where a hard shoulder is used part-time as an extra lane, Rule 269 lets you drive in it only when a speed limit is shown above it; emergency areas (Rule 270) are short refuges marked by blue signs with an orange SOS telephone symbol and may have orange surfacing — use them only in an emergency, and if you stop in one, Rule 278 says you MUST use the emergency telephone provided and follow the operator's advice — a lane may need to be closed so you can rejoin the carriageway safely.

10 April 2025 — Scotland pavement parking (Rules 243 and 244)

On 10 April 2025, Rules 243 and 244 of the Highway Code were clarified to reflect Scotland's pavement-parking and dropped-kerb prohibitions, which came into force on 11 December 2023 under Part 6 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019:

• Rule 243 — in Scotland you MUST NOT double park, or park anywhere the kerb has been lowered to help pedestrians or cyclists; exceptions are allowed in limited circumstances, and a kerb lowered for access to a driveway or garage is not covered.
• Rule 244 — clarified to explicitly cover Scotland. The rule now opens "You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London or Scotland" (with limited exceptions), followed by the original elsewhere-prohibition ("You should not park partially or wholly on the pavement elsewhere unless signs permit it"). The long-standing London prohibition is unchanged.

The change brought the Highway Code wording into line with the Scottish offence; the existing local-authority enforcement regime for pavement parking in the rest of England and Wales is also unchanged. For the theory test: a parking question set in Scotland now expects the pavement / dropped-kerb prohibition to be treated as a national rule, not a local one.

22 October 2025 — "buses and cycles only" and "trams only" signs no longer need an "Only" plate

On 22 October 2025, the traffic-signs chapter of the Highway Code was updated. The buses and cycles only and trams only signs no longer need a separate Only word-plate beneath the sign — the meaning is now carried by the sign itself. The older signs (with the plate) remain valid and you will still see them on the road for some time, but the modernised, plate-less version is the version the theory test now expects.

For the theory test: a sign-recognition question that previously expected you to identify the "Only" plate as part of the symbol now treats the sign as complete without it. If you trained on materials older than late 2025, refresh your recognition of these two signs.

August 2025 — CPR and AED questions confirmed for 2026

On 13 August 2025, DVSA confirmed that the car and motorcycle theory tests would include enhanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) content and, for the first time, questions about using a public-access automated external defibrillator (AED). The new questions begin appearing in tests in 2026, with candidates told to start familiarising themselves from autumn 2025. There is no change to the test duration, the question count or the pass mark. The questions were developed with the Resuscitation Council UK and the Save a Life programmes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. See the 2026 changes guide for the detail you need to revise.

Before 2022 — the changes almost nobody went back for

The January 2022 overhaul got the headlines, so the eight years of changes before it went largely unread. GOV.UK’s online change log starts on 1 January 2014; everything below is drawn from it, newest first.

14 September 2021 — the motorway and breakdown rewrite

The largest pre-2022 update, and the one most licensed drivers have never opened. The motorway, breakdown and roadworks chapters were reworked wholesale, along with fitness-to-drive and following-distance rules elsewhere in the Code, and two rules were entirely new:

• New Rule 270 — emergency areas: where they are (motorways without a hard shoulder, or where the hard shoulder is used part-time as an extra lane), how to recognise one, and that they are for emergency use only.
• New Rule 275 — “a place of relative safety”: the safest place to stop is a location designed for parking; on motorways and other high-speed roads that is a service area, then lay-bys, emergency areas and hard shoulders — and hard shoulders “provide less protection than other places of relative safety”.
• Rule 277 — the breakdown drill became go left, get safe and get help, with the emphasis on staying away from the vehicle.
• Rule 269 — the hard shoulder is for emergency use only, and on some motorways becomes an extra lane during congestion; it can only be used as a lane when a speed limit is shown.
• Rule 263 — it is illegal to reverse along any part of a motorway, including slip roads, hard shoulders and emergency areas.
• Rule 264 — move over where safe when passing people and vehicles stopped on the hard shoulder or in an emergency area.
• Rule 126 — tailgating was defined for the first time: what it is, why it is dangerous, and that it is enforced by the police as careless or dangerous driving.
• Rule 91 — emergency areas and hard shoulders are not places to take a rest break.
• Rule 279 — added the in-car SOS button as an alternative to calling 999, and the emergency SMS service for drivers who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired.

If your mental picture of a breakdown is still “pull onto the hard shoulder and wait in the car”, it pre-dates September 2021.

23 March 2021 — tyre age limits (Annex 6)

Annex 6 gained the permitted ages of tyres on goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes maximum gross weight and passenger vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats. A commercial-vehicle rule, but it shows up in vehicle-safety questions.

2019 — red X, handlebars and a longer burn

• 25 July 2019 (Rule 258): if red lights flash on a signal and a red “X” is showing, you must not drive in that lane beyond the signal — and that holds until you pass another signal showing the lane is no longer closed. Red flashing lights in the central reservation or at the roadside with a lane-closed sign mean you must not go beyond the signal in any lane.
• 21 March 2019 (Rule 160): ride with both hands on the handlebars where possible.
• 20 August 2019 (Annex 7, first aid): burns should be cooled for at least 20 minutes, up from 10, following British Burn Association advice. If you learned “10 minutes”, that answer has been wrong since 2019.

2018 — learners on motorways, driver assistance, and a 40-year MOT line

• 26 April 2018 (Rule 108): traffic officers have powers to stop vehicles on most motorways and some ‘A’ class roads in both England and Wales — previously England only.
• 20 May 2018 (Annex 3): cars, vans, motorcycles and other light passenger vehicles manufactured or first registered over 40 years ago are exempt from the MOT test, unless substantially changed within the previous 30 years.
• 4 June 2018 (Rule 253): provisional car licence holders may drive on the motorway when accompanied by an approved driving instructor in a car with dual controls. Motorway lessons simply did not exist before this date.
• Driver assistance, twice: guidance on remote control parking and driver assistance systems was added to Rules 150, 160 and 239 on 4 June 2018, removed on 27 June 2018 because it had not completed the statutory process, then reinstated on 30 November 2018 — which also updated the Rule 174 box-junction illustration.

2017 — the mobile phone penalty doubled

On 1 March 2017 the Annex 5 penalty table raised the endorsement for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving from 3 points to 6. The 25 March 2022 change then widened what counts as “use”. Between them, a habit that once cost 3 points now costs a new driver their licence. Annex 7’s emergency-care guidance was also rewritten on 28 July 2017 with St John Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation and the British Red Cross.

2016 — smoking in Scotland, and a school bus sign

• 5 December 2016 (Rule 148): it is an offence in Scotland for anyone aged 18 or over to smoke in a private motor vehicle when someone under 18 is in it and the vehicle is in a public place — unless it is parked and being used as living accommodation.
• 3 February 2016 (Rule 209): the school bus road sign image was added.

2014–2015 — drugs, drink in Scotland, and paperwork that no longer exists

• 2 April 2014 (Rule 107): VOSA became DVSA.
• 2 September 2014 (Rule 147): throwing things out of a vehicle moved from should not to MUST NOT — an advisory rule that became law.
• 1 October 2014 (Annex 3): references to displaying a tax disc were removed following its abolition.
• 5 December 2014 (Rule 95): the lower drink-drive limit in Scotland. Scotland and England/Wales have not shared a limit since.
• 2 March 2015 (Rule 96): the drug-driving offence — you MUST NOT drive with illegal drugs or certain medicines in your blood above specified limits. This rule did not exist for anyone who passed before 2015.
• 6 April 2015 (speed limits): national speed limits for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight in England and Wales rose from 40 to 50 mph on single carriageways and 50 to 60 mph on dual carriageways.
• 5 June 2015 (Annex 5): the £5,000 cap on fines for the most serious offences was removed.
• 8 June 2015 (Annex 3): the paper counterpart to the photocard licence was abolished.
• 1 October 2015 (Rule 148): you MUST NOT smoke in a private vehicle carrying under-18s.

What’s changed since you passed — by year

Find the year you passed. Everything in the right-hand column post-dates your test, so none of it was ever examined on you.

If you passed before the theory test existed

A separate written theory test was introduced on 1 July 1996, replacing the Highway Code questions that had been asked during the practical driving test. The pass mark rose from 26/35 to 30/35 on 1 October 1996, the touch-screen version arrived on 4 January 2000, and a hazard perception element using video clips was added in 2002. The question count moved from 35 to 50 on 3 September 2007, setting the 43/50 pass mark still in use. Filmed hazard clips were replaced by computer-generated imagery on 12 January 2015, and from November 2018 the clips started covering different weather conditions.

So a licence issued in, say, 1990 was never tested on the Code in writing at all, and a licence from 1998 was tested on a paper edition two full revisions ago. That is not a knowledge gap you can close by remembering harder — the material genuinely changed.

Nothing to retake — but the Code you are measured against moved

A full GB driving licence does not expire on knowledge. The photocard is renewed every 10 years, and from age 70 the licence itself is renewed every 3 years; neither renewal involves a driving test. There is no periodic re-examination in Great Britain, so no one is going to make you sit the theory test again.

What did change is the standard. The Code applies to every road user from the day a rule takes effect, regardless of which edition you revised from — and the rules written in capitals are not advice.

Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison.

Advisory rules matter too: failure to follow them will not on its own get you prosecuted, but the Code may be used in evidence in court proceedings to establish liability. The full split is in MUST vs should.

Self-check: would you still pass today?

Reading a change list is not the same as recognising it under time pressure. Three quick ways to find out where you actually stand — all free to get started, no signup:

1. The road signs quiz — every official Highway Code sign in random order, four options each, instant feedback. This is where most experienced drivers get their first surprise, and it takes about ten minutes.
2. A mock theory test — the current format is 50 questions in 57 minutes with a 43/50 pass mark, so a mock tells you whether the 2022 rules have actually landed or whether you are answering from a pre-2022 Code.
3. The Highway Code itself — the full current text, searchable as you type. Search “H2”, “163”, “239”, “258” and “270” and read those five rules; if any of them reads as new, you have found your gap.

If the signs quiz stings, the topic-by-topic route in the DVSA question-bank topics is the fastest way to work out whether the problem is one chapter or a general drift.

How to revise the changes efficiently

1. Memorise H1, H2 and H3. Three short rules that recur across multiple questions on the test.
2. Remember the numeric clearances — 1.5 m cyclist at speeds up to 30 mph, 2 m horse at under 10 mph, 2 m pedestrian at low speed.
3. The Dutch Reach (Rule 239) is short and visual. Practise the hand-swap when you next park.
4. Any interactive phone use is driving with the phone. Stationary at lights does not exempt you.
5. An all-lane-running motorway has no hard shoulder. Where a hard shoulder is used part-time as an extra lane, Rule 269 lets you drive in it only when a speed limit is shown above it. The old “pull onto the hard shoulder” advice is wrong for an all-lane-running stretch.

The full updates list — Highway Code on gov.uk

GOV.UK publishes a running log of every update at gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/updates. Use that page if you want a complete diff at any point in time — it’s the canonical source and is updated within hours of any change taking effect.

Sources

• GOV.UK — The Highway Code: 8 changes you need to know from 29 January 2022
• GOV.UK — Highway Code introduction (Hierarchy of Road Users H1–H3)
• GOV.UK — Using the road (159–203) (Rule 163 overtaking, Rule 170 junctions, Rule 186 roundabouts)
• GOV.UK — General rules (103–158) (Rule 149 mobile phone)
• GOV.UK — Waiting and parking (238–252) (Rule 239 Dutch Reach)
• GOV.UK — Using a mobile phone, sat nav or other device when driving (25 March 2022 law)
• GOV.UK — Smart motorway rollout to be paused (12 January 2022 pause)
• GOV.UK — All new smart motorways scrapped (15 April 2023 cancellation)
• GOV.UK — New theory test questions on cardiac arrest (13 August 2025 CPR/AED announcement)
• GOV.UK — Highway Code: full updates log (the canonical change history, back to 1 January 2014)
• GOV.UK — History of road safety, The Highway Code and the driving test (1996 theory test, 1999 and 2007 editions, 2002 hazard perception)
• legislation.gov.uk — Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, section 86 (14 years replaced by imprisonment for life; section 208(5) sets commencement two months after Royal Assent)
• legislation.gov.uk — Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, Part 6 (pavement and dropped-kerb parking prohibitions, in force 11 December 2023)
• GOV.UK — Theory test: multiple-choice questions (50 questions in 57 minutes)
• GOV.UK — Renew your driving licence (photocard renewed every 10 years)
• GOV.UK — Renew your driving licence at 70 (renew every 3 years from 70)

Highway Code excerpts are reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.