Cars and Driving

History

The Highway Code

At this point I obviously should point out that the Highway Code applies to all road users, not just car drivers.

Speed Limits: History

		Year	mph
Speed limit introduced by the Locomotives on Highways Act		1861	10
Speed limit reduced by the Locomotive Act	Country roads	1865	4
Speed limit reduced by the Locomotive Act	In towns	1865	2
Speed limit set by the Motor Car Act		1903	20

20 mph speed limit repealed for light vehicles		1930
30 mph speed limit introduced for built–up areas		1935
National 70 mph speed limit introduced (as a temporary measure)		1965
70 mph speed limit made permanent		1967

During the 1973 oil crisis, a blanket speed limit of 50 mph was imposed. The limit was restored to 70 mph in 1974 (for motorways in March, and for all other roads in May).

The reprieve didn't last long however, and in December 1974 the national speed limits were (temporarily) reduced to 50 mph for single–carriageway roads and 60 mph on dual carriageways. Motorway speed limits were left unchanged at 70 mph.

National speed limits increased to 60 mph for single–carriageway roads and 70 mph for dual carriageways

Speed Limits: the Current Situation

It should go without saying that all motorised vehicles, including motorcycles, are restricted to 30 mph in built–up areas. The following table shows the limits for the various types of vehicle on other roads.

		Single	Dual	Motorways
Cars, motorcycles, car–derived vans (see Notes 1 and 2) and dual–purpose vehicles (see Note 3)		60	70	70
Ditto, towing a caravan or trailer		50	60	60
Motorhomes or motor caravans	Up to 3.05 tonnes (see Note 4)	60	70	70
Motorhomes or motor caravans	Over 3.05 tonnes (see Note 4)	50	60	70
Buses, coaches and minibuses	Up to 12 metres	50	60	70
Buses, coaches and minibuses	Over 12 metres	50	60	60
Goods vehicles	Up to 7.5 tonnes (see Notes 2, 4 and 5)	50	60	70
Goods vehicles	Over 7.5 tonnes (see Notes 4 and 6)	50	60	60

This is impossibly complicated, even though there are only three different numbers involved, but I've shown it if only to demonstrate to potential question setters how ludicrous it is to ask about such things.

As guidance for the poor beleaguered contestant, I offer the following:

•		Every driver should know that the speed limit for a normal car is 60 mph on single carriageways and 70 mph on dual carriageways and motorways. This also applies to motorcycles, and to motor homes and motor caravans up to 3.05 tonnes.
•		For everything else, including an ordinary vehicle towing a caravan or trailer, the speed limit is 50 mph on single carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways (but not necessarily on motorways).
•		All vehicles towing caravans or trailers, buses and coaches over 12 metres, and goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are restricted to 60 mph on motorways.

Notes:

1		A car–derived van is one based on a car such as a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Corsa. The registration document (log book) will tell you if your van is car–derived or not.
2		A Ford Transit (or similar) counts as a goods vehicle.
3		A dual–purpose vehicle is one designed to carry either goods or passengers (or both).
4		For motor homes and motor caravans, the 3.05 tonne limit is unladen weight; for goods vehicles, the 7.5 tonne limit is maximum laden weight.
5		Small goods vehicles (up to 7.5 tonnes) are restricted to 60 mph on motorways if they're articulated or if they're towing a trailer.
6		In Scotland, the speed limit for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on single–carriageway roads is 40 mph. (And if you've ever driven on a single–carriageway road in Scotland, outside a built–up area, you'll know why.)

Stopping Distances

Like speed limits, this is never a popular subject in quizzes – who carries this information around in their head? But if you want to be prepared, here they are.

Formula: the thinking distance in feet is the same as the speed in miles per hour. To work out the braking distance (in feet): divide the speed in miles per hour by 10, square the result, and multiply by 5. For example: 60 divided by 10 is 6; 6 squared is 36; 36 times 5 is 180. A metre is just over three feet; a car length is 4m or 13 ft.

Speed	Thinking distance	Braking distance	Stopping distance	Car lengths
20 mph	6m (20 ft)	6m (20 ft)	12m (40 ft)	3
30 mph	9m (30ft)	14m (45 ft)	23m (75 ft)	6
40 mph	12m (40 ft)	24m (80 ft)	36m (120 ft)	9
50mph	15m (50 ft)	38m (125 ft)	53m (175 ft)	13
60 mph	18m (60 ft)	55m (180ft)	73m (240 ft)	18
70 mph	21m (70ft)	75m (250 ft)	96m (315ft)	24

Highway Code – Other

The 'first rule of the road' in Britain		Keep to the left
Minimum capacity of motorcycles allowed on British motorways		50cc
Age at which all British drivers must retake the driving test		70
The Highway Code forbids sounding your horn in a built–up area between		2330 and 0700
UK minimum legal tread depth		1.6 mm
Yellow marks on the kerb prohibit		Loading and unloading
Background colour of UK road signs for tourist attractions		Brown
On the motorway, red cats eyes mark		The near side
Signs telling you what you can't do (e.g. No Entry): shape and colour		Circular, red border
Signs telling you something you must do (e.g. keep left): shape and colour		Circular, blue
Warning sign (e.g. beware animals on road)		Triangular
The only UK road sign that's an inverted triangle (pointing down) means		Give Way
The UK's only octagonal road sign means (and reads)		Stop

Parking (and loading) restriction signs – which are actually the most numerous regulatory signs – are oblong.

Traffic light sequence (UK):

Documents that a driver (in the UK) must be able to produce if requested by police:

	Driving licence
	Vehicle excise licence (tax disc)
	Insurance certificate (third party is the legal requirement)
	MOT test certificate (if applicable)

The three types of traffic–light–controlled crossings described in the Highway Code are:

The standard, traditional type of light–controlled pedestrian crossing		Pelican
One that senses when pedestrians have crossed, or walked away		Puffin
One that allows bicycles to be ridden across, as well as pedestrians to walk across		Toucan

Since 2002, the theory part of the UK driving test has consisted of fifty multiple choice questions, and fourteen 60–second video clips designed to test

Tyres

Firestone tyres are made in		USA
Bridgestone tyres are made in		Japan
Continental tyres are made in		Germany

Abbreviations

FSH (in a second–hand car advert)		Full Service History
ABS		Anti–lock Braking System
OHC		OverHead Camshaft

Engineering

Forces valves to open and close		Camshaft
(Previously) used to mix petrol and air, to provide a combustible mixture; progressively replaced, mainly in the late 1980s and early 90s, by fuel injection systems		Carburettor
Removes pollutants from exhausts		Catalytic converter
Converts the up and down motion of the pistons to rotary, to drive the wheels		Crankshaft
Allows the two wheels on one axle to turn at different speeds when cornering		Differential
Passes electricity from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in sequence		Distributor
Selector fork is found in the		Gearbox
Connects the piston to the connecting rod		Gudgeon pin
Using brake and accelerator simultaneously with the same foot		Heel & toe (toe & heel)
Alternative name for the four–stroke cycle (after its German inventor)		Otto cycle
Component of the suspension system that "provides lateral location of the axle" – named after the French company that introduced it – also known as the track bar		Panhard rod
Dampens the recoil of the road springs		Shock absorber
Space at the bottom of the engine, used for collecting oil		Sump
"Spy in the cab" that measures the hours and speed of a lorry or bus driver		Tachograph
Connects the crankshaft to the camshaft		Timing belt
Connects the front wheels, ensuring they both turn at the same angle		Track rod
Distance between front and rear axles		Wheelbase
Invented by Newcastle United fan Gladstone Adams as a result of his experience on a journey to watch the FA Cup final in 1908 (Newcastle lost 1–3 to Wolves)		Windscreen wiper

Makes

Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, with original premises in Kensington; moved to Feltham, Middlesex in 1926; bought in 1947 by David Brown Ltd, a Huddersfield–based manufacturer of gears and machine tools – subsequently using the initials DB for many of its models; opened new factories at Bloxham, Oxfordshire in 1994, and Gaydon, Warwickshire in 2003; bought by Ford in 1994, then by a consortium of private investors in 2007, then (partly) by an Italian private equity fund in 2012; floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, after making a profit in 2017 for the first time in several years			Aston Martin
Founded in 1909 by August Horsch, who'd already set up one motor company with his own name but had been forced out of it; uses the Latin translation of that name (meaning "hark" or "listen") – said to have been suggested by the young son of an associate; symbol is four linked circles; bought by Volkswagen in 1966			Audi
Founded in 1919 in Cricklewood, Middlesex; bought by Rolls Royce in 1931; moved to Crewe, Cheshire, in 1938 (site acquired by the government to support wartime manufacturing – made more than 25,000 "Merlin" aircraft engines during the war); bought by Volkswagen in 1998			Bentley
Austin, Morris, Austin Healey, MG, Riley, Wolseley: main marques of			BMC (British Leyland)
Bought Rolls Royce Motors in 1998			BMW
Badge represents a spinning propeller
Founded in Alsace in 1909; enjoyed great success in Grand Prix racing between the wars; foundered following the death of its Italian–born founder in 1947, but revived in 1987 to produce high–performance sports cars; acquired by Volkswagen in 1998; produced the Veyron supercar, 2005–15; announced the Chiron in 2016 as the successor to the Veyron			Bugatti
Named after the French explorer who founded Detroit in 1701 (Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac); founded in 1902 after Henry Ford left the company that bore his name (going on to found the present Ford Motor Company in 1903); still headquartered in Detroit			Cadillac
FCA: the world's seventh–biggest car manufacturer – owns marques including Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lancia and Maserati; formed in 2014 when Fiat acquired (American manufacturer)			Chrysler
Founded in 1966, takes its name from the historic region that constitutes much of present–day Romania; bought by Renault in 1999; Romania's top company by revenue, and largest exporter			Dacia
Korean manufacturer bought by General Motors 2001; rebranded as Chevrolet 2005			Daewoo
Produced the first successful four–wheeled petrol–driven motor car, and the first commercially available British motor car (1896)			Daimler
US–based company that manufactured the DMC–12 sports car, 1981–2, in the village of Dunmurry (just outside Belfast)			DeLorean
Based in Maranello, near Modena			Ferrari
Likes to call itself "the Blue Oval" (after its emblem); owned Aston Martin 1992–2007, Jaguar 1989–2008 (see Tata)			Ford
Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac: main US marques of			General Motors
Motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Michigan; models include Fat Boy, Softail, Sportster, Electra Glide			Harley Davidson
The Goldwing motor cycle is manufactured by			Honda
South Korea's biggest car manufacturer: name means "modernity"			Hyundai
Genesis – officially announced as a stand–alone marque in 2015 – is the luxury vehicles division of
Manufacturer of industrial vehicles, founded in Turin in 1975: models include the EuroCargo, EuroTech, EuroTrakker and EuroStar			Iveco
Formed in Blackpool, in 1922, by William Lyons and William Walmsley as the Swallow Sidecar Co. (a 1935 model was called the SS Jaguar); moved to Coventry in 1928; adopted its current name in 1945 (because of the Nazi associations of the SS name); bought by Ford in 1989, Tata in 2008			Jaguar
Manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles, founded in 1922 as W J Smith & Sons Limited; based in West Bromwich, Staffordshire; famous models included the Interceptor (1966–76); dissolved in 2011			Jensen
South Korea's second largest car manufacturer (after Hyundai), and the first to offer a seven–year warranty on all cars sold in Europe			Kia
Luxury car manufacturer, founded in 1906 in Staines, Surrey, by Wilbur Gunn, an American former opera singer of Scottish ancestry; named after a beauty spot (creek) near his home town of Springfield, Ohio; bought by Aston Martin in 1947			Lagonda
Switched from making farm machinery to ultra–desirable cars, in 1963; badge depicts a raging bull, in recognition of the founder's interest in bullfighting; the majority of its models have names that are related to bullfighting			Lamborghini
Founded in 1917 by Henry Leland and his son Wilfred; named after the first Presidantial candidate that Leland Sr. had voted for; bought by Ford in 1922, and has been a luxury Ford brand ever since			Lincoln
Founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman – badge has "ACBC" (for Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman); based since 1966 in the village of Hethel, Norfolk; famous models include the Elan, Eclat, Elite, Esprit, and Elise			Lotus
Founded in 1926 by six Italian brothers; emblem is a trident			Maserati
Bongo (commercial vehicle): manufactured since 1966 by			Mazda
Originally the name of an engine, developed for Daimler by the German entrepreneur Emil Jellinek, who named it after his daughter			Mercedes
Founded in 1924 to market cars customised to the designs of salesman Cecil Kimber			MG (Morris Garages)
Logo is three diamonds			Mitsubishi
Has built cars by hand in Malvern, Worcestershire since 1910			Morgan
First British car to sell a million			Morris Minor
Japanese company: opened a major new factory in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, in 1986; by 2007 it was producing 400,000 vehicles per year, making it Europe's most productive car plant			Nissan
Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of
US marque: founded in 1897, bought by General Motors in 1908, discontinued in 2004; produced the 88, 1949–99 – its best seller from 1950 to 1974 – which gave its name to the 1951 song Rocket 88, often described as the first rock 'n' roll record			Oldsmobile
Badge is a lion rampant; introduced the acclaimed RCZ coupé in 2010			Peugeot
Founded in Malaysia in 1983, to manufacture rebadged Mitsubishi models; bought Lotus in 1996			Proton
Founded in 1935 by T. L. Williams at Tamworth, Staffordshire; based there until shortly before its demise in 2002; famous for the Robin 3–wheeler and the Scimitar sports model			Reliant
Formed as a result of a meeting in the Midland Hotel, Manchester, 1904; went bankrupt in 1971			Rolls–Royce
Group that included the marques Hillman, Singer, Sunbeam and Humber			Rootes
Evolved from Starley & Sutton, of Coventry, founded in 1878 to make bicycles; made its first car in 1904; in 1967 it became part of Leyland Motor Corporation, which took its name in 1986 and was subsequently acquired by British Aerospace in 1988, sold to BMW in 1994, and split up in 2000 (BMW retained the Mini marque, sold Land Rover to Ford, and sold the remainder for £10 to a consortium headed by this company's former chief executive); ceased production in 2005			Rover
Founded in 1950 in Martorell, Catalonia, by a state–owned company; controlled by Fiat from 1967; became Volkswagen's first non–German wholly–owned subsidiary in 1990; name is an acronym whose full expression translates into English as "Spanish Touring Car Company"			SEAT
Founded in 1895 in the Czech Republic, bought by Volkswagen in 2000			Skoda
Established in 1994 as a joint venture between Swatch and Daimler–Benz			Smart
1924: Malcolm Campbell broke the world land speed record, driving a			Sunbeam
Bought Jaguar Cars from Ford in 2008			Tata
US company, founded in 2003 and named after a Croatian–born physicist; specialises in making high–performance electric cars, aiming for eventual sustainability; unsuccessfully sued the BBC's Top Gear in 2011 following a review of the Roadster, which implied that it couldn't hold charge; Elon Musk is its co–founder, CEO, and product architect			Tesla
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of			Toyota
Sports car maker, established in Blackpool 1946 (and owned until 1965) by Trevor Wilkinson			TVR
Founded in 1857 by Alexander Wilson, to make pumps and marine engines; bought in 1863 (and given its current name) by Andrew Betts Brown to make travelling cranes; began making cars in 1903; bought by General Motors in 1925; Bedford Vehicles was established in 1930 as a subsidiary to manufacture commercial vehicles; sold in 2017 to Groupe PSA (manufacturers of Peugeot, Citröen and DS)			Vauxhall
'I roll' in Latin			Volvo
Owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda			Volkswagen

Models

The first car ever built in India: ceased production in 2014 after 56 years (British Leyland made a model with the same name, from 1982 to 1984)			Ambassador
Bentley's version (equivalent) of the Rolls–Royce Silver Seraph – produced 1998–2009			Arnage
The first four–wheel drive saloon			Audi Quattro
The first British hatchback			Austin A40
Small, low–cost sports car, produced by BMC (later British Leyland) from 1958 to 1971: marketed as one that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", and the successor to sporting versions of the pre–war Austin Seven; affectionately known as the 'frog–eye' because of its headlights, prominently mounted on top of the bonnet; see also MG Midget			Austin–Healey Sprite
Subject of the first Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual (titled as such), published in 1965
The first mass–produced British car			Austin Seven
Vauxhall model: based on the Opel Ascona, replaced the Victor in 1975, replaced in 1995 by the Vectra			Cavalier
Land Rover model: production ceased in 2016, ending a run that went back to the company's original 1948 model			Defender
The UK's best–selling car, every year from 2009 to 2017 (and counting)			Ford Fiesta
Chevrolet car (built since 1958, with some breaks): named after an antelope			Impala
Model produced by Aston Martin from 1974 to 1990: named after the luxury marque that Aston Martin had bought in 1947			Lagonda
MG–badged, slightly more expensive version of the Austin–Healey Sprite; produced 1961–80			Midget
Replaced the Model 'T' Ford, 1928			Model 'A'
First British car to sell a million			Morris Minor
Launched in 2006, and named after an ethnic group from Iran (known in Japan and Australia as the Dualis)			Nissan Qashqai
Rolls–Royce model introduced in 1926 to replace the ground–breaking Silver Ghost; its eighth version was introduced in 2017			Phantom
Controversial Ford 'subcompact' (supermini), 1971–80 (North America only): with a reputation for fuel–tank fires associated with rear–end collisions; a leaked memo suggested that it was preferable to pay damages rather than to recall the car			Pinto
James Dean, when he died, was driving a			Porsche Spider 550
Replaced the Ford Cortina in 1982; replaced by the Mondeo in 1994			Sierra
The model that established Rolls–Royce's reputation as makers of "the best car in the world" (produced 1906–25; initially in Manchester, Derby from 1908)			Silver Ghost
Ford mid–sized model: the USA's best–selling car every year from 1992 to 1996			Taurus
Name shared by cars made by Triumph (1970–6) and Seat (from 1991) – after a Spanish city, famous for sword–making; there is also a city in Ohio with the same name			Toledo
Volkswagen city car (World Car of the Year 2012): shares its name with a Pixar film released in 2009			Up
Aston Martin model, launched in 1977 following the rescue of the company, and produced until 1989: hailed as "Britain's first supercar" for its 170 mph top speed			V8 Vantage
Publicised on introduction (1938) by the slogan 'strength through joy'			VW Beetle

Record Breakers

Broke the world land speed record nine times between 1924 and 1935 (during which period it increased from 145 mph to 301 mph); also held the water speed record from 1937 to 1950, breaking it four times		Malcolm Campbell
Carmarthenshire beach on which Malcolm Campbell set world land speed records in 1924, 1925 and 1927 (also Parry Thomas in 1926)		Pendine
Florida beach where the world land speed record was broken seven times between 1928 and 1935 – twice by Henry Segrave (UK), four times by Malcolm Campbell, and once (1928) by Ray Keech (USA)		Daytona Beach
Utah salt flats where the world land speed record was broken seven times between 1935 and 1947 – once by Malcolm Campbell, three times by George Eyston, and three times by John Cobb		Bonneville Salt Flats
Son of Malcolm Campbell: held the world water speed record from 1955 to 1967, breaking it seven times; also held the land speed record for a wheel–driven car from 1964 to 1965, after Craig Breedlove (USA) broke the overall record using jet power		Donald Campbell
Name used by Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald for their cars and boats		Bluebird
Sir Malcolm Campbell, and his son Donald, set world water speed records in 1939 and 1959 respectively, on (Cumbrian lake); Donald Campbell died there during an unsuccessful attempt in 1967		Coniston Water
Scottish businessman who set a new world land speed record of 633.468 mph (1,019 km/h) in 1983; also directed the ThrustSSC project (see below)		Richard Noble
Name of the car in which Richard Noble broke the world land speed record		Thrust2
RAF fighter pilot: became the first person to break the sound barrier on land, when he set a new world land speed record of 714.144 mph (1,149.303 km/h) in 1997		Andy Green
Name of the car in which RAF fighter pilot Andy Green became the first driver to break the sound barrier (in 1997)		Thrust SSC
Desert in Nevada where both Richard Noble and Andy Green set world land speed records		Black Rock Desert

Other

BMW stands for (in English)			Bavarian Motor Works
Britain's National Motor Museum			Beaulieu, Hampshire
Before cars, Rover made			Bicycles
Skodas are primarily manufactured in			Czech Republic
UK government department responsible for driving tests			Driving Standards Agency
You would find "Battenburg markings" on (an)			Emergency vehicle
Irish–born British tractor pioneer: made a deal with Henry Ford in 1938, to produce tractors incorporating his innovations in the USA; merged with Massey Harris of Canada in 1953 (following the expiry of most of his important patents), forming the company that combined his name with that of Massey			Harry Ferguson
Whitby Morrison, f.k.a. Whitby Specialist Vehicles – based in Crewe, Cheshire – is the world's leading manufacturer of			Ice cream vans
Builder of the first British motor car, 1894–5 (didn't market or sell any until Daimler had already done so); inventor of the disc brake			Frederick William Lanchester
The Gatso is a brand of			Speed camera
Title, or name, of the Rolls–Royce emblem (statuette)			Spirit of Ecstasy
Manganese Bronze Holdings plc – once dealing in British motorcycle marques – now only makes			Taxis
Secretary who modelled for the Spirit of Ecstasy			Eleanor Thornton
Nickname of the Model 'T' Ford			Tin Lizzie
FIAT: the T stands for			Torino (Turin)
Up to 1963, Lamborghini made			Tractors
Depicted on the Rover badge (also a stylised one on the Skoda badge)			Viking longship

Cost of the standard Mini when launched (1959)		£497
Number of Model 'T' Fords sold (nearest million)		18 million

London to Brighton Run first held – to celebrate the passing of the Light Locomotives Act by Parliament that year			1896
The RAC was founded in			1897
Driving licences introduced in the UK			1903
Registration numbers came into force on British cars			1904
The London to Brighton Run is for Veteran cars – made before			1905
The AA was founded in			1905
Vintage cars are those made between (inclusive range)			1919 and 1930
30 mph speed limit in built–up areas introduced in the UK			1934
Driving tests became compulsory in the UK (after being introduced in the previous year)			1935
Volkswagen Beetle launched			1938
Morris Minor launched			1948
Zebra crossings incorporated into law in the UK (after a 2–year experiment)			1951
Austin Mini launched			18 August 1959
MOT Test introduced (for vehicles over 10 years old)			1960
British registration numbers first suffixed by a letter			1963
Breathalyser introduced in the UK			1967
New cars to have front seat belts fitted (UK) – applied to cars made from 1965 on			1968 (31 Dec)
You don't need a road tax licence for cars built before			1973
Wearing of seat belts made compulsory (in front seats) in the UK			1983
Wearing of seat belts by adult rear seat passengers made compulsory in the UK			1991
Driving theory test introduced			1996
Current format of vehicle registration numbers introduced			2001 (1 Sep)

You are here:

On this page: