The Road Traffic Act 1934 ( 24 & 25 Geo. 5. c. 50) was an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

introduced by the Minister of Transport, Leslie Hore-Belisha. The Act was made in a year in which there had been a record numbers of road casualties.

Context

The

Locomotive Acts The Locomotive Acts (or Red Flag Acts) were a series of Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom regulating the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on British public highways during the latter part of the 19th century. The first three, the L ...

of the late 1800s had placed heavy restrictions on speeds of "locomotives". Under pressure from an emerging motor industry and growing enthusiasm for motor cars the

Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 36) removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier Locomotive Acts which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom. ...

had reduced the restrictions and increased speed limits. Speed limits were again raised by the

Motor Car Act 1903 The Motor Car Act 1903 ( 3 Edw. 7. c. 36) was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament that received royal assent on 14 August 1903, which introduced motor vehicle registration, driver licensing and increased the speed limit. Context The act fo ...

which also introduced requirements for registration of vehicles and for driving licences as well as new safety legislation. The

Road Traffic Act 1930 The Road Traffic Act 1930 ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 43) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced by the Minister of Transport Herbert Morrison. Context The last major legislation on road traffic was the Motor Car Act 1903. Ame ...

had controversially removed all speed limits for motorcars in a year with record 7,305 road fatalities Department for Transport (2008), p. 106 table 2 since which the levels of fatalities had increased to 7,343 deaths and 231,603 injuries. Half the deaths were of pedestrians, and of these three-quarters occurred in built-up areas. The Pedestrians' Association had been set up in 1929 to

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

on behalf of pedestrians with the Automobile Association and

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private Club (organization)#Country or sports club, social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, ne ...

resisting further legislation. The

Salter Report The Salter Report was named after Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter, Arthur Salter, who chaired an influential conference of road and rail experts in 1932 which reported in 1933. The report directed British government policy for Motoring taxation i ...

which had been commissioned by the government was published in 1933 and recommended changes to the funding of both road and rail transport.

Clauses

The Act: *Reintroduced a speed limit for cars, of 30mph in built-up areas, reversing the removal of speed limits only 4 years earlier by the

. *The UK driving test was made compulsory for all new drivers from 1 June 1935. *Strengthened legislation relating to insurance for drivers.

Legacy

The Belisha beacon, named after the Transport Minister, was introduced to clearly identify crossings. The 30 mph speed limit in urban areas remains the most common speed limit (as of 2015).

Notes

References

;References for notes above * ;Other references {{UK legislation 1934 in British law Automotive safety Roads in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1934 1934 in transport Transport policy in the United Kingdom Road safety in the United Kingdom Driving in the United Kingdom History of transport in the United Kingdom Transport legislation

Context

Clauses

Legacy

See also

Notes

References