The Highway Code is the official set of information and guidance for road users in theUnited Kingdom, its objective being to promote the safe and efficient use of the road network. The Code applies to all road users, includingpedestrians, horse riders andcyclists, as well asmotorcyclists and other drivers. It gives information ontraffic signs,traffic signals,road markings and legal requirements for different road users, and has annexes on vehicle maintenance, licence requirements, documentation, penalties, and vehicle security.
ThoughThe Highway Code itself is not legally binding, many of its rules directly reflect the law, and a failure to observe any of its provisions may be used as evidence in legal proceedings (for example to establish liability in relation to offences such ascareless anddangerous driving).
The Highway Code was first published in 1931, and is regularly updated.[1] It is prepared by theDepartment for Transport and theDriver and Vehicle Standards Agency, and is published byThe Stationery Office in both electronic form and as a printed book.
The 17th edition (2022) introduced some significant changes. In particular, a new "hierarchy of road users" classifies road users according to their risk of injury in the event of a collision, with the most vulnerable (for example, pedestrians and cyclists) at the top.
The Great Britain version, available in English and Welsh, applies to England, Scotland and Wales; however, region-specific signs such asdriver location signs in England andbilingual signs in Scotland and Wales are not covered. There is also aNorthern Ireland version, available in English and Irish.
The Departmental Committee on the Regulation of Motor Vehicles announced in 1920 that "a compulsory and uniform code of signals for all road vehicles is to be brought into operation".[2] Drivers inLondon had evolved a system for signalling their intentions to turn right or stop, using their arm, and this was seen to be of such benefit that it should be required and standardised as a code of behaviour across the country. The code allowed the driver to use either their own arm or a dummy arm – which had obvious benefits in wet weather for drivers with the luxury of an enclosed cab, or for drivers using left-hand-drive vehicles, as in imported American cars. The intention to bring in the compulsory code was delayed and in successive years the code was expanded including whip signals for horse-drawn vehicles, and signals made by policemen controlling junctions.
In 1923 a booklet costing onepenny was published byHis Majesty's Stationery Office and approved by theHome Office andScottish Office. EntitledTraffic Signals to be used by the Police and Drivers of Vehicles, this booklet arose from discussions between the Police andThe Automobile Association.[3] In subsequent years, in addition to being promoted by the automobile associations, the code was publicised using posters by the National Safety First Association (which still continues this work, having been renamed theRoyal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in 1936).
The formal introduction ofThe Highway Code was one of the provisions of the wide-reachingRoad Traffic Act 1930. Costing one penny, the first edition of the code was published on 14 April 1931. It contained 21 pages of advice, including the arm signals to be given by drivers and police officers controlling traffic.[4] The second edition, considerably expanded, appeared in 1934, and included illustrated road signs for the first time. During its preparation theMinistry of Transport consulted with thePedestrians' Association.[5]
Further major updates followed after the Second World War, references to trams, for example, being removed after the 1954 version. (Blackpool was for decades the only place in the UK with a tram system. Tramway rules returned to the Code in 1994, after the first modern tram systems in Britain had opened). Motorway driving was first included in the fifth edition. The sixth edition, in 1968, used photographs as well as drawings, and updated the illustrations of road signs to take the new 'continental' designs into account. The 70-page 1978 edition introduced theGreen Cross Code for pedestrians, and orange badges for unskilled drivers. The book's layout was changed to a taller format in the 1990s. An electronicHighway Code app followed in 2012. Following public consultations in 2020,[6] a new "hierarchy of road users" was incorporated into the 17th edition (2022), classifying road users according to their risk (for example of them being injured) in the event of a collision, with the most vulnerable at the top.[6]
The "hierarchy of road users", according toThe Official Highway Code "is a concept that places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy". Three special rules are provided which cover the concept:[7]
Sets out the principle that those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others. The principle applies most strongly to drivers of large goods and passenger vehicles, vans/minibuses, cars/taxis and motorcycles. Cyclists, horse riders and drivers of horse drawn vehicles likewise have a responsibility to reduce danger to pedestrians.
At a junction, other road users should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which they are turning.
Pedestrians have priority on zebra crossings and on shared usecycle tracks. Only pedestrians (including wheelchair and mobility scooter users) may use the pavement. Pedestrians may use any part of the road and may use cycle tracks as well as the pavement, unless there are signs to the contrary.
Drivers should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when they are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane (just as they would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle). The code says "do not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the [more vulnerable road user] going straight ahead to stop or swerve". This applies not only when the more vulnerable road user is on the road, but also when they are in acycle lane or on a cycle track.
Certain rules inThe Highway Code are legal requirements, and are identified by the words 'must' or 'must not', presented in bold red block capitals. In these cases, the rules also include references to the corresponding legislation. Offenders may be cautioned, given penalty points on their driving licences, fined, banned from driving or imprisoned, depending on the severity of the offence. Although failure to comply with the other rules will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted,The Highway Code may be used in court under theRoad Traffic Act 1988 to establish liability or determine who is at fault in a road traffic incident. These include advisory rules with the wording 'should' and 'should not' or 'do' or 'do not'. The latest official printed version of the Highway Code is the one in force at any time, but in legal proceedings the version current at the time of the incident applies.
TheRoad Traffic Act 1988 states:
A failure on the part of a person to observe a provision ofThe 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...) be relied upon by any party to the proceedings as tending to establish or negative any liability which is in question in those proceedings.[8]
The currently applicable Highway Code for England, Scotland, and Wales is available to read online at the Highway Code website, with links to download as free PDF eBook, app, and audio book.[9] A printed version is widely available for purchase.[10]
Media related toThe Highway Code at Wikimedia Commons
The full text ofThe Highway Code (1931) at Wikisource