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Highway Code
 
 
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The Highway Code is the official road safety
Road-traffic safety

Road traffic safety aims to reduce the harm resulting from crashes of road vehicles. Harm from road traffic crashes is greater than that from all other transportation modes combined....
 manual for Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
. In Northern Ireland the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies. It contains 307 numbered rules and 9 annexes covering pedestrian
Pedestrian

A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates, skateboards, and similar devices are also considered to be pedestrians....
s, animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers
Driving

Driving is the controlled operation of a land vehicle, such as a automobile, truck or bus. Although direct operation of a bicycle, a mounted animal or a motorcycle is commonly called riding, such operators are usually legally considered to be drivers and are required to obey the rules of the road which apply to all drivers....
. As well as the rules and annexes, there is information on road signs
Road signs in the United Kingdom

Road signs in the United Kingdom conform broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers....
, road markings
Road surface marking

Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a Pavement in order to convey official information.Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians....
 and vehicle markings.






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Encyclopedia


Highway Code Cover
The Highway Code is the official road safety
Road-traffic safety

Road traffic safety aims to reduce the harm resulting from crashes of road vehicles. Harm from road traffic crashes is greater than that from all other transportation modes combined....
 manual for Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
. In Northern Ireland the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies. It contains 307 numbered rules and 9 annexes covering pedestrian
Pedestrian

A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates, skateboards, and similar devices are also considered to be pedestrians....
s, animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers
Driving

Driving is the controlled operation of a land vehicle, such as a automobile, truck or bus. Although direct operation of a bicycle, a mounted animal or a motorcycle is commonly called riding, such operators are usually legally considered to be drivers and are required to obey the rules of the road which apply to all drivers....
. As well as the rules and annexes, there is information on road signs
Road signs in the United Kingdom

Road signs in the United Kingdom conform broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers....
, road markings
Road surface marking

Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a Pavement in order to convey official information.Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians....
 and vehicle markings. The annexes contain information on vehicle maintenance, licence requirements, documentation, penalties and vehicle security.

Certain rules in the Highway Code represent various road traffic
Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel....
 laws and must be obeyed. Others are not compulsory, but advisable. The Road Traffic Act 1988 says:

A failure on the part of a person to observe a provision of the Highway Code shall not of itself render that person liable to criminal proceedings of any kind but any such failure may in any proceedings (whether civil or criminal, and including proceedings for an offence under the Traffic Acts, the [1981 c. 14.] Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 or sections 18 to 23 of the [1985 c. 67.] Transport Act 1985) be relied upon by any party to the proceedings as tending to establish or negative any liability which is in question in those proceedings.


The first edition was published in 1931, with a price of one penny
British One Penny coin (pre-decimal)

The penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 g pure silver, was introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. Coins of the same value were in circulation continuously until decimalisation in 1971, at which time a British One Penny coin was introduced worth 2.4 times the value of the old coin....
, and as of 2004 over one million copies of the modern code are sold each year. The current price of the book, as of 2007, is £2.50. Most copies are bought by learner drivers, who are expected to learn the manual for their driving test
United Kingdom driving test

The United Kingdom driving test first introduced in 1934 is a test which United Kingdom drivers must pass to obtain a full Driver's license. Different tests are available for users of different vehicles, from automobile drivers, to motorcycle and Large Goods Vehicle drivers....
.

The latest edition of the Highway Code was released in September 2007 and contained new advice such as the risk of smoking while driving and information for novice drivers.

Further reading


See also

  • Green Cross Code
    Green Cross Code

    The Green Cross Code is a brand created by the UK National Road Safety Committee to raise awareness of pedestrian road safety in the United Kingdom....
  • Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions
  • Vehicle
    Vehicle

    Vehicles, derived from the Latin word, vehiculum, are non-living means of transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks....
  • Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
    Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

    The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by standardising the Rules of the road among the contracting parties....
  • Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
    Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

    The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals is an international treaty designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for road traffic in use internationally....


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