I posted my question 5 minutes after a regular lunchtime ride that I take at least twice a week. (About an hour, part urban, part country lanes). I was dressed in dayglo green with flashing front and rear lights. Having just been reading about the highway code changes, I decided to count the overtakes and side road pull outs. Of 40 plus overtakes, only 2 were 1.5m or more (one really close one felt like it was at over 60 MPH ). There was one dangerous side road pull out, when I was 20 feet from him and he came across me close enough for me to tell you his eye colour.
Would knowing the highway code have changed any of that?