The Road Traffic Act 1930 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 ...

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...

Context

The last major legislation on road traffic was 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 ...

. Amendments had been discussed in 1905, 1913 and 1914 as the Motor Car Act (1903) Amendment Bill and Motor Car Act (1903) Amendment (No 2) Bill. Since 1926 in which there were 4,886 fatalities in some 124,000 crashes a detailed set of national statistics (now known as Road Casualties Great Britain) had been collected. It was not until 1929 that a new Road Traffic Bill was discussed in detail following a Royal Commission report on Transport, "The control of traffic on roads," which was adopted almost in its entirety. During a parliamentary debate on making speedometers compulsory in 1932 it was suggested that speed limits for cars were removed by this Act because "the existing speed limit was so universally disobeyed that its maintenance brought the law into contempt" rather that for considerations of safety.

Clauses

The Act repealed the

Locomotive Act 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 ...

of 1865, 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 ...

and the

and introduced many new regulations which controversially included the removal of all speed limits on UK roads for motor cars.

Relating to motor cars

*Abolition of all speed limits for cars *Introduction of driving offences of dangerous, reckless and careless driving and driving whilst being unfit and under the influence of drink or drugs *Compulsory third-party insurance *The first

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 ...

s for disabled drivers only *Classification of motor vehicles *Construction, weight and equipment of motor vehicles *Issue of

Highway Code ''The Highway Code'' is a set of information, advice, guides and mandatory rules for road users in the United Kingdom. Its objective is to promote road safety. The ''Highway Code'' applies to all road users including pedestrians, horse riders ...

For public service vehicles

*Central regulation of UK coach services *Introduction of a 30-mile an hour

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 - expre ...

for buses and coaches. *Issue of

public service vehicle A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

s *Rules regarding the conduct of drivers, conductors and passengers on public service vehicles. *Limitation of hours of continuous driving It was amended in 1988 and at other times.

Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930

The Road Traffic Act 1930 was strengthened by the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930.

Legacy

Many clauses introduced by the Act have been retained. Regulations relating to insurance, licensing and driving offences have continued to evolve since that date.

Context

Clauses

Relating to motor cars

For public service vehicles

Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

UK Legislation