The Road Traffic Act 1934 was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

introduced by the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

Leslie Hore-Belisha Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha, PC (; 7 September 1893 – 16 February 1957) was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party. He proved highly su ...

. The Act was made in a year in which there had been a record numbers of road casualties.

Context

The Locomotive Acts 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 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. It came into operation on ...

had reduced the restrictions and increased speed limits. Speed limits were again raised by the Motor Car Act 1903 which also introduced requirements for registration of vehicles and for driving licenses as well as new safety legislation. The Road Traffic Act 1930 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. Hore-Belisha spoke of this as "mass murder" and he was nearly killed shortly after his appointment during a public-relations exercise to demonstrate how to use the new " uncontrolled crossings" when a car sped through the crossing without stopping. The Pedestrian's Association had been set up in 1929 to advocate on behalf of pedestrians with the Automobile Association and

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

resisting further legislation. The

Salter Report The Salter Report was named after 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 transport funding for decades to follow. Recommen ...

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 Road Traffic Act 1930. *The

UK driving test The United Kingdom driving test is a test of competence that UK residents take in order to obtain a full Great Britain or Northern Ireland (car) driving licence or to add additional full entitlements to an existing one. Tests vary depending on t ...

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

Legacy

The

Belisha beacon A Belisha beacon is an amber-coloured globe lamp atop a tall black and white striped pole, marking pedestrian crossings of roads in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and in other countries historically influenced by Britain such as Hong Kong, Malta ...

, 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 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

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Legacy

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References