The British Highway Code is there for the safety of yourself an other drivers. It is without a doubt the one most essential piece of reading both young and old motorists alike in England, Scotland and Wales should be keeping up-to-date on.

The British Highway Code - What You Should Know and Probably Don't

When it comes to the British Highway Code, it can often be difficult and tiresome to wade through the wealth of information. However, there are several key points in the code that you should know, and use on a regular basis. Without this knowledge, you could be putting yourself or others in danger, and you could find yourself at fault should an accident occur. The most recent edition of the official Highway Code contains the latest rules of the road and include many new road traffic acts such as smoking in a vehicle operated by a business, child seatbelt and booster laws and the as British road users we should know and respect the legislation that we are expected to adhere to. The book also includes advice on road safety, and best practice. Courtesy on our roads is a culture we should be proud of. The existing advice which one found in the last major re write of the Highway Code back in 1999 has been increased and improved upon to make everything much clearer for all road users on how they should act or react in a variety of situations they could find themselves in.

General Guidelines

• When a traffic light goes out, the intersection then becomes a four way stop and all applicable rules apply.
• At the traffic lights AMBER means "Stop" at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident. Speeding up to beat the signals before they change to red is not the correct thing to do, actually it quite dangerous if you think about it. Pedestrians are expecting you to slow down and stop. Many motorists simply ignore the amber light.
• Two solid white lines in the middle of the motorway mean that you are not able to overtake another car under any circumstance. A solid white line with a broken white line nearest you means that you can overtake another car if the other lane is clear. A single broken white line in the middle of the motorway means that you can overtake whenever it is safe to do so.
• Reflective road studs can instruct you on when it may or may not be safe to drive and about the conditions of the motorway ahead. White studs simply mark the middle of the motorway, red marks the edge of the motorway on the left, amber the central reservation of a dual carriageway, green marks the edge of a main carriageway, and green/yellow studs reflect a change in the layout of the lane.
• Only use the hazard warning lights on your car when your vehicle is incapacitated on the side of a motorway, and not while moving in traffic. However should you see an accident or danger ahead of you and since you are in a position to warn others of this potential hazard ahead, then it would be correct to put your hazard lights on as soon as it is safe to do so.
• When using a single carriageway that has three lanes, use the middle lane only for overtaking, and use caution when doing so, the cars from the opposite direction have as much a right as you do to use the middle lane as well.
• When driving, keep to the left unless you need to turn right, overtake, or are otherwise instructed by motorway signs.
• Do not overtake other vehicles when there are double white lines in the middle of the dual carriageway, when you are on a corner or curve, when you are going up a hill, or on a hump bridge.
• Different colors and shapes of signs indicate different things. Warning signs are mostly triangular and have a red border. Regulatory signs are mostly round, red borders are used for prohibitive actions and may have a red line through them, and a blue border is used for positive mandatory items. Informational and directional signs are rectangular, and use colors that correspond to the type of motorway they are dealing with. Road work signs that appear before the actual road work are normally triangular with a red border and have a man digging on them. Inside road work areas, the directional signs are yellow with black script.

There is a large amount of information contained within the British Highway Code, and it all must be memorised in order to obtain a license in the UK. Although the guidelines above can help you learn about the most frequently needed information, it is best that you look over the code in its entirety if you plan to operate a vehicle locally.

Bookmark this page

Copyright © 2008 Click4Warranty
The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily held by the Click4Group unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only. This article has made reference to many sources and we would like to point out that we have attempted to note as many of the as reasonable possible. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.