The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier

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 Lo ...

which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 14 November 1896.

Background

The powerful

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

lobby and those with interests in transport using horse-drawn vehicles advocated the original

which imposed very low

speed limits Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

and other restrictions on the use of "locomotives" and motorcars on the UK public highways. Motor car enthusiasts strongly urged the removal of these restrictions on motorcars. The Mayor of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, Sir David Salomons, organized the first automobile exhibition to be held on 15 October 1895 in his local agricultural society's showgrounds. On the day the ground was too soft so he led the vehicles out onto the road from the showground to the town. "Not one of the horses so much as lifted an eye as the horseless carriages sped somewhat noisily by". The enthusiasts included London company-promoter turned motor-industry promoter H. J. Lawson, who in July 1895 successfully floated his ''British Motor Syndicate Limited'' and in 1896 formed The Daimler Motor Company Limited to buy F. J. Simms' ''Syndicate''. F. J. Simms had already formed his ''Self Propelled Traffic Association'' in 1895 then followed it in 1897 with a motorist's club now known as the RAC. These enthusiasts,

Henry Sturmey John James Henry Sturmey (1857–1930), known as Henry Sturmey, is best remembered as the inventor with James Archer of the Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub for bicycles, but he was a technical editor and journalist heavily involved as a pioneer o ...

of publishers Iliffe & Sturmey edited it himself, also started '' The Autocar'' in November 1895 to tell of the burgeoning motor industry in France, attract the support of the public and publicize their promotion events.Lord Montagu and David Burgess-Wise ''Daimler Century'' ; Stephens 1995 The day before the flotation of ''The Daimler Motor Company Limited'' and Lawson's promoting gathering of almost 1,700 people on 15 February 1896, the Prince of Wales, later

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, was driven about the location, the Imperial Institute, by Simms' friend,

Evelyn Ellis Evelyn Ellis (February 2, 1894 – June 5, 1958) was an American character actress of stage and film. Devoting herself to the theatre, her film roles were few, but she appeared in films including ''The Joe Louis Story'' and ''The Lady from Sha ...

, in the Daimler-engined Panhard & Levassor which Ellis and Simms had brought in from France and used in July 1895 for Britain's first long-distance motorcar journey – Southampton to Datchet and on to Malvern without police intervention. The Prince said "Evelyn, don't drive so fast, I am frightened!" as too were the bystanders but he was impressed and later agreed to become patron of Britain's first motor show. "Ellis subsequently ran the car in many parts of England doing what he could to induce the authorities to take proceedings against him . . . but the authorities did not accept his challenge" By 1895 some drivers of early lightweight steam-powered

autocars Autocars Co. Ltd. ( he, אוטוקרס) of Haifa, Israel, was Israel's first car manufacturer. History Autocars Ltd, founded in 1957, made fiberglass-shelled cars that were popular in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s. Government agencies wer ...

thought that these would be legally classed as a ''horseless carriage'' and would therefore be exempt from the need for a preceding pedestrian. John Henry Knight brought a

test case In software engineering, a test case is a specification of the inputs, execution conditions, testing procedure, and expected results that define a single test to be executed to achieve a particular software testing objective, such as to exercise ...

to court in 1895. On 17 October 1895 Knight's assistant, James Pullinger, was stopped in Castle Street, Farnham, by the Superintendent of Police and a crowd had gathered by the time Knight arrived. The superintendent asked whether it was a steam engine, Knight replied that it was not and thus admitted liability. He and Pullinger were charged with using a locomotive without a licence. The case was heard at Farnham

Petty Sessions Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...

in Farnham Town Hall on 31 October 1895. Knight and Pullinger were both fined half a crown 2s 6d (or possibly 5 shillingsWey River, History of Farnham
) plus 10 shillings costs (or possibly 12s 6d).British Local History, The First Motor Offender
/ref> The government first debated the ''Locomotives On The Highway Act'' in 1895 but the bill lapsed when Gladstone's minority

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government fell that year. Following the 1895 General Election a new government, formed by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

parties, debated the proposal again and the act was passed taking effect 14 November 1896. During the debate for the bill various speeds between were discussed with reference to the speed of a horse and what would be deemed to be 'furious driving' in relation to a horse.

Clauses

This Act defined a new category of vehicle, ''light locomotives'', which were vehicles under 3

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s unladen weight. These 'light locomotives' were exempt from the three crew member rule, and were subject to the higher

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

although most local authorities had the authority to reduce it to .

Subsequently

In celebration of the act being passed Lawson organised an ''Emancipation Run'', which took place on 14 November 1896 when thirty vehicles travelled from London to Brighton. Annual commemoration of that emancipation day drive became famous and is known as the

London to Brighton Veteran Car Run The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event, held on a course between London () and Brighton (), England. To qualify, participating cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest g ...

. The relaxation of usage restrictions eased the way for the development of the

British motor industry The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterham Cars, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lister Cars, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-R ...

. The speed limit was raised to 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 follo ...

. Both the Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 and the Motor Car Act 1903 were repealed by the

Road Traffic Act 1930 The Road Traffic Act 1930 was 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. Amendments had been discussed ...

Notes

References

External links