The Motorway Code/Introduction

Britain's Motorways differ from other roads. They have no sharp bends, roundabouts, traffic lights or crossroads. Drivers joining or leaving the Motorway always do so from the left. Crossing traffic or right-turning vehicles are carried either above or below.

Motorways are restricted roads. They are not open to pedal cyclists, learner drivers, mopeds, invalid carriages, animals, slow-moving oversized loads (except by special permission) or agricultural vehicles.

Safety on the Motorways is of first importance, especially since average speeds will be higher than those on other roads. So it is essential for all who use them to adapt their driving habits to the special conditions and to observe certain rules. These rules are set out in this supplement to the Highway Code. Some of them look forward to the Motorways now being built, and do not apply in full to the Preston By-Pass. But, taken as a whole, they constitute your code of conduct for our Motorways.