Locomotives on Highways Act 1896

The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier Locomotive Acts which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 14 November 1896.

The powerful railways lobby and those with interests in transport using horse-drawn vehiclesadvocated the original Locomotive Acts which imposed very low speed limits and other restrictions on the use of "locomotives" and motorcars on the UK public highways.

Motor car enthusiasts strongly urged the removal of these restrictions on motorcars. The Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Sir David Salomons, organized the first automobile exhibition to be held on 15 October 1895 in his local agricultural society's showgrounds. On the day the ground was too soft so he led the vehicles out onto the road from the showground to the town. "Not one of the horses so much as lifted an eye as the horseless carriages sped somewhat noisily by".

The enthusiasts included London company-promoter turned motor-industry promoter H J Lawson, who in July 1895 successfully floated his British Motor Syndicate Limited and in 1896 formed The Daimler Motor Company Limited to buy F J Simms' Syndicate. F J Simms had already formed his Self Propelled Traffic Association in 1895 then followed it in 1897 with a motorist's club now known as the RAC. These enthusiasts, Henry Sturmey of publishers Iliffe & Sturmey edited it himself, also started in November 1895 to tell of the burgeoning motor industry in France, attract the support of the public and publicize their promotion events.

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