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.
18-596: The first three, the Locomotive Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 70), the Locomotives Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. 83) and Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878 ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77), contained restrictive measures on the manning and speed of operation of road vehicles; they also formalised many important road concepts such as vehicle registration, registration plates, speed limits, maximum vehicle weight over structures such as bridges, and
36-528: Is a list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in the calendar year 1878 and the session 41 & 42 Vict. The session 41 & 42 Vict was the fifth session of the twenty-first Parliament of the United Kingdom. Sources published during the regnal year 41 Vict refer to this session as 41 Vict, because, at that time, it was not known when the session would end. During
54-458: Is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of
72-474: The UK turnpike trust system had failed following the UK railway boom . New steam powered road locomotives , some up to 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and 14 tons, were alleged to damage the highway while they were being propelled at "high speeds" of up to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). There is evidence that the steam carriages' brakes and their wide tyres caused less damage to the roads than horse-drawn carriages because of
90-475: The list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of
108-579: The 1865 act and raised the speed to 14 mph (23 km/h). The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 provided legislation that allowed the automotive industry in the United Kingdom to develop soon after the development of the first practical automobile (see History of the automobile ). The last "locomotive act" was the Locomotives Act 1898 . The Highway Act 1835 and subsequent acts ( Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55), Local Government Act 1888 and Local Government Act 1894 ) attempted to find satisfactory methods of maintaining roads since
126-534: The Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800
144-488: The Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Some of these acts have a short title . Some of these acts have never had a short title. Some of these acts have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by the Short Titles Act 1896 . The third session of the 18th Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 5 February 1861 until 6 August 1861. 41 %26 42 Vict. This
162-549: The United States. The emerging UK automotive industry advocated very effectively for the 1896 Act during the preceding year. Coventry manufacturer Harry J. Lawson , who had purchased the British Daimler engine patents in 1895 and later was to form The Daimler Motor Company , was very influential. Economic historian Kenneth Richardson has suggested that the 1896 Act may have been written by Sir David Salomons ,
180-452: The absence of horses' hooves striking the road and wheels which did not lock and drag. It has been claimed that the restrictions in the earlier act were advocated by those with interests in the UK railway industry and horse-drawn carriages. In addition to any concerns about the state of the roads, by the 1860s, there was concern that the widespread use of traction engines , such as road locomotives and agricultural engines, would endanger
198-516: The contravention of the regulations, and allowed for compensation relating to delay caused by the weighing process. (Sections 2, 3 and 4 respectively) The act also contained sections on: 24 %26 25 Vict. This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1861 . Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see
SECTION 10
#1732772431969216-621: The founder of the Self-Propelled Traffic Association, on his assumption that no government department personnel would have had the necessary experience to do so themselves. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 70) recognised that the use of "powered locomotives" on turnpikes and other roads would become commonplace, and that many existing laws (e.g. Turnpike, Highway acts) did not contain any provision for regulation or tolling of such vehicles. The act contained sections on: The act also set out
234-485: The local authority's discretion). Speed limits were later increased by the Motor Car Act 1903 . The Locomotives Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 29) required road users to affix signs displaying the weight of wagons; limited length of hauled road trains to three wagons without permission, and gave powers to road authorities to operate weighing machines for the weighing of road vehicles, as well as allowing fines for
252-466: The organisation of highway authorities. The most strict restrictions and speed limits were imposed by the 1865 act (the "Red Flag Act"), which required all road locomotives, which included automobiles, to travel at a maximum of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) in the country and 2 mph (3.2 km/h) in the city, as well as requiring a man carrying a red flag to walk in front of road vehicles hauling multiple wagons. The 1896 act removed some restrictions of
270-399: The safety of the public. It was feared that engines and their trailers might cause fatal accidents, scare horses, block narrow lanes, and disturb the locals by operating at night. Although all of these fears were justified and were soon realized, there was a gradual acceptance of the machines as they became more common in commerce. Similar 'Red Flag' legislation was enacted in some states in
288-419: The values of fines for breach of the regulations. The Locomotive Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. 83): The Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878 ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77) contained sections on: The act also repealed and replaced with amendments part of the 1861 and 1865 Locomotive Acts; these included: The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 introduced a 12 mph speed limit (8 to 16 mph at
306-491: The year 1878 and the session 41 & 42 Vict, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed 79 public general acts ; 32 public acts of a local character, which were placed amongst the local and personal acts ; 238 local acts ; and 7 private acts printed by the Queen's Printer . The number shown after each act's short title or popular title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by
324-404: The year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held. Most of these acts have a short title. Some of these acts have never had a short title. Some of these acts have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by the Short Titles Act 1896 . There are tables of the statutes of this year and session; indexes to the statutes of this year and session; and tables of
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