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Road users come in all different forms, there are pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists and of course, drivers. The Highway Code is seen by all of these road users as the default set of rules for correct road behaviour.

Around a decade the motorcar was born, there were two million of them on the roads and in 1930 there were around 7300 deaths by road accidents. Considering that in 2006 there were around 3000 deaths by road accidents and over 20 million cars on the road, the 1930 statistics needed sorting out.

So, probably as a (direct or indirect) result of this, the Highway Code was born. Launched in 1931, it celebrated its 75th birthday in 2006, it has undergone many changes and updates over those years. For example the original version of the Code was a mere 24 pages long and contained information such as how to indicate when turning in your horse drawn carriage.

There was no mention of why driving drunk or tired was dangerous or any road signs or stopping distances and it cost one old penny. Included in the second edition, released in 1946, was advice on why you shouldn’t drive drunk or tired, and the first fifteen road signs to be put out on British roads made the debut appearance, only two of which we still use today.

Stopping distances however, did not get a mention until the edition that came out in 1954, along with a further sixteen road signs, bringing the total number to 31. When compared with today’s 170, its interesting to think what new signs might become commonplace on our roads in another sixty years.

The first version to include photographs and 3D images was the sixth version which came out in 1968, and these images were used to show braking distances. It also introduced the orange badges for disabled people and gave the Green Cross Code to pedestrians.

Then, the theory driving test was introduced in The 90′s, along with an update to the Code to include the information that new drivers need to pass it, hence this has now become part of the code itself.

So the Highway Code has been with us for around 78 years and during that time has become the key resource for driving laws, guidelines or advice. The newest law to be added of course being that you can’t use mobiles while driving. This just shows how the laws of the road have adapted to the changes in society.

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