Highway Code, explained

The rule is simple: those who can do the most harm carry the most responsibility. Lorries and buses at the top, then vans and cars, then motorcycles, cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians.

It does not give anyone right of way. It says that if you are driving a car and something goes wrong with a cyclist, more of the responsibility for avoiding it was yours.

In practice: give way to pedestrians waiting to cross at a junction you are turning into, leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking a cyclist at under 30mph, and do not cut across a cyclist when turning left.

Stopping distance is thinking distance plus braking distance. At 30mph that is 23 metres. At 70mph it is 96 metres — roughly 24 car lengths.

Thinking distance scales with speed in a straight line; braking distance scales with the square of speed. Doubling your speed roughly quadruples the braking part, which is why speed matters so much more than people expect.

In the wet, double the whole thing. On ice, allow up to ten times. The two-second rule is a practical shortcut — pick a fixed point, and if you reach it less than two seconds after the car in front, you are too close. Four seconds in the wet.

At a crossroads with no markings and no signs, no one has priority. The Highway Code is explicit about this, and it is the answer to a question that comes up constantly.

Approach slowly, make eye contact, and be ready to give way even if you think it is your turn. Do not assume the other driver knows the rule.

Drive in the left lane unless you are overtaking. Middle-lane hogging is an offence and can attract a fixed penalty.

Overtake on the right. The only time passing on the left is acceptable is in slow-moving queues where your lane happens to be moving faster.

Learners can now take motorway lessons, but only with a DVSA-approved instructor in a dual-controlled car.

Sidelights alone are for when you are parked on a road with a speed limit over 30mph, and little else. They make you visible but do not light the road.

Dipped headlights are the default whenever visibility is poor or it is dark, including built-up areas with street lighting.

Main beam is for unlit roads with no oncoming traffic. Dip as soon as you see another vehicle, including one you are following — dazzling someone through their mirror is just as dangerous.

Fog lights only below 100 metres visibility, and switch them off when it clears. They are dazzling and they hide your brake lights.