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Kate Plummer
Nov 11, 2022
What changes are being made to the Highway Code?
Indy
Sajid Javid weighed in on a road safety debate and it went terribly.
The former cabinet minister who has served as chancellor, home secretary and health secretary responded to a video posted by Jeremy Vine's show on Twitter of a child cycling down a road then coming very close to an approaching car.
The video is filmed by the child's father and shows a narrow gap between the child and the car when they pass. The tweet invited people to decide whether they believe the child or the car driver to be at fault for the close shave.
But Javid, seemingly with the time to watch daytime TV now he's on the backbenches again, said the child's father was to blame.
However, people said his opinion wasn't in keeping with the rules of the Highway Code and said the driver should have stopped to let the child pass.
With that in mind, people including Labour MP Charlotte Nichols rushed to criticise Javid for his take:
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\u201cThe Highway Code doesn't forbid children from cycling on roads but it certainly forbids drivers from passing within 1.5 metres of a cyclist.\n\nSomeone needs to retake their driving test...\u201d— Cllr Khayer Chowdhury (@Cllr Khayer Chowdhury) 1668090268
\u201cHow can someone who has been Home Secretary, Health Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer fail to understand the Highway Code?\u201d— Nick Jones \ud83d\udc99 (@Nick Jones \ud83d\udc99) 1668158585
\u201cHi @sajidjavid, a driving instructor constituent of mine contacted me regarding this deeply irresponsible tweet. They'd like to know when you last checked the Highway Code, and can give you some support if you'd like to apply for an extended test after giving your licence back \ud83d\udc4d\u201d— Charlotte Nichols (@Charlotte Nichols) 1668160228
\u201cEven if it was correct that it was the father\u2019s fault \u2014 and reading the Highway Code shows it was not \u2014 the motorist should have still stopped.\u201d— Carlton Reid (@Carlton Reid) 1668100059
You win some Twitter debates, you lose some Twitter debates.
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