Rules of the road

:This article concerns rules of the road regarding land vehicles; for sea-going vehicles, see International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

Highway code

In many countries, the rules of the road are codified, setting out the legal requirements and punishments for breaking them.

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In the United Kingdom, the rules are set out in the Highway Code, including some obligations, but also a lot of other advice on how to drive sensibly and safely. For this second set of advice, it states: Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under Traffic Acts to establish liability. Many of its ex-colonies still retain this notice.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Highway Code

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In the United States, traffic laws are regulated by the states and municipalities through their respective traffic code. The federal government's Department of Transportation has some control over road signage and vehicle safety, and limited control over the Interstate highway system (which is actually built and maintained by the states). However, all state vehicle or traffic laws have common elements. These include the mandatory automobile insurance requirement, right-of-way rules, the basic speed rule (go only as fast as is safe under the circumstances up to the maximum posted speed limit), and the requirement to stop after an accident. The most common state-by-state variation is in maximum speed limits; for example, rural states like Montana have speed limits as high as 75 mph (120 km/h), but Oregon has a maximum speed limit of 65 mph (104 km/h) and Hawaii has a maximum of 55 mph. (88 km/h).

Related Topics:
United States - Traffic code - Interstate highway - Automobile insurance - Speed limit - Montana - Mph - Km/h - Oregon - Hawaii

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