TheLocomotive Acts (orRed Flag Acts) were a series ofActs of Parliament in the United Kingdom regulating the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on Britishpublic highways during the latter part of the 19th century.
The first three, theLocomotive Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 70), theLocomotives Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 83) andHighways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 77), contained restrictive measures on the manning and speed of operation of road vehicles; they also formalised many important road concepts such as vehicle registration, registration plates, speed limits, maximum vehicle weight over structures such as bridges, and the organisation of highway authorities.
The most strict restrictions and speed limits were imposed by the 1865 act (the "Red Flag Act"), which required all road locomotives, which included automobiles, to travel at a maximum of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) in the country and 2 mph (3.2 km/h) in the city, as well as requiring a man carrying a red flag to walk in front of road vehicles hauling multiple wagons.
The 1896 act removed some restrictions of the 1865 act and raised the speed to 14 mph (23 km/h).
TheLocomotives on Highways Act 1896 provided legislation that allowed theautomotive industry in the United Kingdom to develop soon after the development of the first practical automobile (seeHistory of the automobile). The last "locomotive act" was theLocomotives Act 1898.
TheHighway Act 1835 and subsequent acts (Public Health Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55),Local Government Act 1888 andLocal Government Act 1894) attempted to find satisfactory methods of maintaining roads since theUK turnpike trust system had failed following theUK railway boom.[citation needed]
Newsteam powered road locomotives, some up to 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and weighing 14 tons, were alleged to damage the highway while they were being propelled at "high speeds" of up to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h).[1]
However, there is evidence that the steam carriages' brakes and their wide tyres caused less damage to the roads than horse-drawn carriages because of the absence of horses' hooves striking the road and wheels which did not lock and drag.[2] It has been claimed that the restrictions in the earlier act wereadvocated by those with interests in theUK railway industry and horse-drawn carriages.[3][disputed –discuss]
In addition to any concerns about the state of the roads, by the 1860s, there was concern that the widespread use oftraction engines, such as road locomotives and agricultural engines, would endanger the safety of the public. It was feared that engines and their trailers might cause fatal accidents, scare horses, block narrow lanes, and disturb the locals by operating at night. Although all of these fears were justified and were soon realized, there was a gradual acceptance of the machines as they became more common in commerce.[citation needed]
Similar'Red Flag' legislation was enacted in some states in the United States.[4]
The emergingUK automotive industry advocated very effectively for the 1896 Act during the preceding year. Coventry manufacturerHarry J. Lawson, who had purchased the British Daimler engine patents in 1895 and later was to formThe Daimler Motor Company, was very influential.[5][failed verification] Economic historian Kenneth Richardson has suggested that the 1896 Act may have been written bySir David Salomons, the founder of the Self-Propelled Traffic Association, on his assumption that no government department personnel would have had the necessary experience to do so themselves.[6]
| Locomotive Act 1861[a] | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for regulating the use of locomotives on turnpike and other roads, and the tolls to be levied on such locomotives and on the waggons and carriages drawn or propelled by the same. |
| Citation | 24 & 25 Vict. c. 70 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 1 August 1861 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Locomotive Act 1861 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk. | |
The Locomotives on Highways Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 70) recognised that the use of "powered locomotives" on turnpikes and other roads would become commonplace, and that many existing laws (e.g. Turnpike, Highway acts) did not contain any provision for regulation or tolling of such vehicles.[7]The act contained sections on:
The act also set out the values of fines for breach of the regulations.
| Locomotives Act 1865[8] | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for further regulating the use of Locomotives on Turnpike and other roads for Agricultural and other purposes. |
| Citation | 28 & 29 Vict. c. 83 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 5 July 1865 |
| Commencement | 1 September 1865 |
| Expired | 1 September 1867 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Road Traffic Act 1930 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Locomotive Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 83):[9]
... one of such Persons, while any Locomotive is in Motion, shall precede such Locomotive on Foot by not less than Sixty Yards, and shall carry a Red Flag constantly displayed, and shall warn the Riders and Drivers of Horses of the Approach of such Locomotives, and shall signal the Driver thereof when it shall be necessary to stop, and shall assist Horses, and Carriages drawn by Horses, passing the same.
... the Whistle of such Locomotive shall not be sounded for any Purpose whatever; nor shall the Cylinder Taps be opened within Sight of any Person riding, driving, leading, or in charge of a Horse upon the Road ...
... any Person in charge of any such Locomotive shall provide Two efficient Lights to be affixed conspicuously, One at each Side on the Front of the same, between the Hours of One Hour after Sunset and One Hour before Sunrise.
... it shall not be lawful to drive any such Locomotive along any Turnpike Road or public Highway at a greater Speed than Four Miles an Hour, or through any City, Town, or Village at a greater Speed than Two Miles an Hour; and any Person acting contrary thereto shall for every such Offence, on summary Conviction thereof, forfeit any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds.
| Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878[10] | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Law relating to Highways in England and the Acts relating to Locomotives on Roads; and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 16 August 1878 |
| Repealed | 5 November 1993 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 77) contained sections on:
The act also repealed and replaced with amendments part of the 1861 and 1865 Locomotive Acts; these included:
TheLocomotives on Highways Act 1896 introduced a 12 mph speed limit (8 to 16 mph at the local authority's discretion).[11] Speed limits were later increased by theMotor Car Act 1903.
| Locomotives Act 1898 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Law with respect to the use of Locomotives on Highways, and with respect to extraordinary Traffic. |
| Citation | 61 & 62 Vict. c. 29 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 August 1898 |
| Repealed | 5 November 1993 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Locomotives Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 29) required road users to affix signs displaying the weight of wagons; limited length of hauled road trains to three wagons without permission, and gave powers to road authorities to operate weighing machines for the weighing of road vehicles, as well as allowing fines for the contravention of the regulations, and allowed for compensation relating to delay caused by the weighing process. (Sections 2, 3 and 4 respectively)
The act also contained sections on:
Meanwhile British Motor Syndicate began a public relations campaign to lobby for the repeal of the "Highways and Locomotive Act", still the main obstacle to the introduction of the car in Britain... Furthermore, on November 2, 1895, the syndicate published the first issue of the magazine "The Autocar" – today the world's oldest car magazine ... The show was a great success and in political terms, too, things were now running according to plan. Even before the show opened the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, expressed a desire to view and ride in an automobile. Simms and Ellis were happy to oblige with a ride in a belt-driven Daimler. Prince Edward returned from his test drive full of enthusiasm, and even though he expressed the view that as an animal lover he hoped the car would not render the horse completely redundant, he agreed to become patron of Britain's first motor show.