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The 'Highway Code' is the official road safety manual for the United Kingdom. It contains 278 numbered rules and 7 annexes covering pedestrians, animals, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers. As well as the rules and annexes, there is information on road signs, road markings 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 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.^[1]
The first edition was published in 1931, with a price of one penny, and as of 2004 over one million copies of the modern code are sold each year.^[2]The current price of the book, as of 2006, is £1.99.
A new edition of the Highway Code is currently being debated in Parliament and should be ready by the end of the year. [1]

Contents

References

Further reading

See also

External links

References

1. Road Traffic Act 1988 (c.52), s.38(7)
2. History of the Highway Code

Further reading

★ The Highway Code, Department for Transport, Driving Standards Agency, , , The Stationery Office, , ISBN 0-11-552698-6

See also

★ Green Cross Code

★ Vehicle

★ Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

★ Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

External links

★ Highway Code online

★ Information on the May 2004 revised edition from TSO

★ Highway Codes of Olden Times