THE HISTORY OF THE HIGHWAY CODE

In 1931, HM Government published a new book for ‘ the instruction and education of all road users as to their duties and obligations to one another and to the community as a whole’. The Highway Code was a result of the 1930 Road Traffic Act, which also made careless driving an office and obliged motorists to carry third party insurance. At that time, there were just 2.3 million motor vehicles in the UK, but the driving test still lay four years in the future.

Herbert Morrison, the then Minister of Transport, hoped the 18-page book would serve as ‘a supplementary guide to the proper use of the highway. It was to serve as ‘a code of good manners to be observed by all courteous and considerate persons’. The first edition also contained advertisements for the AA, The Autocar and The Motorcycle magazines, BP, Castrol Motor Oil, Motor Union Insurance and the RAC.