Part 1 · Topic 08 of 11
Road procedure — which rules cover what
A map of the Highway Code rules behind Band 1 road procedure — junctions, roundabouts, overtaking, lane discipline and motorways — so you can look up the exact wording rather than revise from a summary.
Key facts
- Band 1 is 25 of the 100 multiple-choice questions, and you need at least 20 of those 25
- Rule 163: at least 1.5 metres passing a cyclist at up to 30mph, 2 metres for horses (under 10mph) and for pedestrians in the road
- Junction pedestrian priority (H2/170) is a SHOULD, not a MUST — the MUST applies at zebra and parallel crossings
- Rule 126: double the two-second gap on wet roads, up to ten times on ice
Band 1 is road procedure — 25 of your 100 questions, needing at least 20 right. Almost all of it comes straight from The Highway Code, so the sensible way to revise is from the Code itself rather than from anyone's summary of it, including ours. What this page gives you is the map: which rule covers which subject, so you can go and read the real wording.
Ask IDEA can pull any of these up for you — just ask for the rule by number or describe the situation. (Rule numbers verified against gov.uk; the Highway Code is Crown copyright, reproduced under the Open Government Licence.)
Junctions
| Subject | Rules |
|---|---|
| Approaching a junction, observation, pedestrian priority | 170 |
| Stop signs | 171 |
| Give Way signs and broken white lines | 172 |
| Dual carriageways — crossing or turning right | 173 |
| Box junctions | 174 |
| Traffic lights and advanced stop lines | 175 to 178 |
| Turning right | 179, 180 |
| Right turns at crossroads | 181 |
| Turning left | 182, 183 |
Rules H2 and 170 are the ones that changed in 2022 and the ones experienced instructors most often teach out of date. Get the wording exactly right, because both halves are commonly mangled:
- You should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. That covers emerging as well as turning in — the half most people drop.
- It is a should, not a MUST. The MUST for pedestrian priority applies at zebra crossings and parallel crossings (rule 195), not at junctions generally. Teaching it as a legal requirement at every junction is wrong, and the MUST/should distinction is exactly what separates a driving fault from a breach of the law.
- If a pedestrian has started to cross, they have priority — give way.
Roundabouts
| Subject | Rules |
|---|---|
| Approach and lane choice | 184 |
| Priority to the right | 185 |
| Signals and lane discipline, including cyclists and horse riders | 186 |
| Hazards to watch for | 187 |
| Mini-roundabouts | 188 |
| Double mini-roundabouts | 189 |
| Multiple roundabouts | 190 |
Overtaking, position and speed
| Subject | Rules |
|---|---|
| Keep left, lane discipline | 160 |
| Mirrors – Signal – Manoeuvre | 161 (and restated at 180) |
| Checks before overtaking | 162 |
| Clearances when passing cyclists, horses and pedestrians | 163 |
| Large vehicles — dropping back | 164 |
| Where you MUST NOT overtake | 165 |
| Being overtaken, and the two-second gap | 168, 169 |
| Stopping distances and separation in wet or ice | 126 |
| White line meanings | 127 to 130 |
| Changing lanes, merging in turn | 133, 134 |
| Single-track roads and passing places | 155, 156 |
Motorways and dual carriageways
| Subject | Rules |
|---|---|
| Who may not use a motorway (incl. provisional licence holders) | 253 |
| Joining | 259 |
| What you MUST NOT do — reversing, crossing the central reservation | 263 |
| Lane discipline, moving over for stopped vehicles | 264, 265 |
| Overtaking | 267, 268 |
| Leaving | 273 |
| Dual carriageways | 137, 138 |
Rule 253 is worth knowing precisely as an instructor: a provisional licence holder may drive on a motorway only when accompanied by a DVSA approved driving instructor, in a car with dual controls, displaying red L plates (D plates in Wales).
Where this connects
The same ground is set out as a teaching syllabus in the national driving standard — role 3 in particular — and as marking categories on the driving test report. Band 1 asks what the rule is; Part 2 asks you to drive it; Part 3 asks you to teach it. Revising the rule numbers now pays off three times.
For the wider reading list, see study materials; for how the bands are weighted, see what the Part 1 test covers.