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14 April 2006 - RAC

Unlock the Secrets of the Highway Code

How many motorists will break the Highway Code rules this Good Friday – which is not just one of the busiest days on UK roads but also the 75th Birthday of the Highway Code?

With 18 million cars expected to take to the roads over the Easter Bank Holiday, the RAC Foundation is encouraging motorists to dust off their copies and get the kids to play ''I-Spy'' with the six worst motorway ''Highway Code Breakers.'' *

The Highway Code is one of the best-selling books in the United Kingdom, selling one million copies a year. If laid end-to-end they would stretch all the way round the M25 - but eighty percent of drivers admit that they have rarely or never looked at it since passing their test.**

It was first published in 1931 when, concerned about the driving habits of ''motorcads'' and ''scorchers'' – pre-war hoodies who drove with heads down and hats over their eyes – Royal Automobile Club Committee member Mervyn O’Gorman suggested a Code would improve safety.

In the 1930s, eccentric signalling by motorists was thought to be a major contributor to road accidents. Modern motorists put this at no.6 in their most hated motorway habits.

This Good Friday the RAC Foundation has identified other main ''Highway Code Breakers'' and challenges motorists to spot them on their Easter break.

The Top Five worst Easter sinners are:-

Hot Cross Buns – fired up and angry, the Hot Cross Bun sees other drivers as mobile roadblocks and will do anything to get them out of his way, from driving inches from their bumper to flashing his lights and making hand signals that Meryn O’Gorman would not have approved of. Tailgating is the most hated motorway habit, with 28 per cent of motorists putting this at Number 1.

Easter Egg-Heads – the Easter Egg-Head is glued to his hi-tech gadgets – lap-top on knee, DVD player balanced on the dashboard, PDA in one hand and stylus in the other, and mobile phone clamped to ear. Recent Transport Research Laboratory studies showed that in-car gadgets can take a driver’s eyes off the road for up to 7 seconds. At motorway speeds, a car can travel over 200 metres in that time. Motorists named the mobile phone menace as Number 2 in their most hated habit list.

Easter Bunnies – the Easter Bunny hops between lanes without warning – no ''mirror, signal, manouvre'' for them, just spot the gap and swoop. Motorists suddenly cutting across lanes to exit the motorway is Number 3 in the most unpopular motorway habits, with 15 per cent of motorists naming it the worst habit.

Middle Lane Disciples – like the twelve balls glued to the Easter Simnel Cake to represent the apostles, the Middle Lane disciple is glued to the tarmac even if the lane inside is empty. Middle Lane Hogs were the fourth most hated motorway sinners, with 13 per cent of motorists putting them top.

Easter Chicks – the Easter Chick – male or female – thinks the rear-view mirror is there as an aid to personal grooming and can be spotted putting make-up on, or shaving. Often found driving slowly in the outside lane in front of a Hot Cross Bun oblivious to his stressed-out manoeuvres. 9 per cent of motorists said this was the worst motorway habit, putting the Easter Chicks at Number 5.

Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation, said:

''Modern motorists have bad habits that were not even imagined in 1931 – the mobile-phone menace or the battery-powered shaver would have been dismissed as science-fiction by Royal Automobile Club Committee members.

''But the advice in the Introduction to the original Highway Code remains as sensible today as it was seventy-five years ago: ‘Always be careful and considerate towards others…bear in mind their difficulties and try not to add to them.''

''Though the Code has grown from 21 pages to 120, we encourage all motorists to brush up on their Highway Code knowledge and avoid getting egg on their face this Easter.''

www.racfoundation.org

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