Locomotive Acts

The Red Flag Act was a law in the United Kingdom, which was introduced in 1865 in order to avoid road accidents, which are frequently emerging steam car. The law wrote that a vehicle without horses or a car with a maximum speed of 4 miles ( ~ 6.4 km / h ) was allowed to drive an hour. Within the villages, the limit was 2 miles per hour. Each automobile two people to drive the vehicle had to be present and a pedestrian had to run ahead, who had to wear a red flag to warn the population. In 1875 yet 1589 people died in the UK as a result of road traffic accidents with cars and steam traction engines.

Perhaps the powerful railway companies, the lobby of the horse owners supported the introduction of this law to turn off the unwelcome new competition. Also, the extent to which the law has impeded the development of the car is unclear. An independent automobile industry originated in the UK until around 1896, when the Red Flag Act by the "Law on locomotives on roads " has been lifted. Thus, cars and motor vehicles were now allowed to be traveling faster than pedestrians. The maximum speed limit was raised from 4 miles to 14 miles per hour. On this occasion, the London Brighton Run was held on November 14, 1896 for the first time.