The Highway Code be taken into account by a court. The mandatory rules reflect the Statute Law, which may (and usually does) provide a separate penalty. The highway code was first published in 1931 as a booklet and has been regularly updated to reflect current practices. It is prepared by the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, and is published by The Stationery Office in electronic form and as a printed book. Most copies are bought by learner drivers preparing for their driving test. In 2004, for example, over one million copies of the Highway Code were sold. The
The Highway Code first time. During its preparation the Ministry of Transport consulted with the Pedestrians Association. Further major revisions followed after the Second World War so that, for example, references to trams were still included in the 1954 version but disappeared after that (tramway rules returned to the Code in 1994, after the first modern tram systems in Britain had opened). Motorway driving was included in the fifth edition. The sixth edition, in 1968, used photographs as well as drawings for the first time, and also updated the illustrations of road signs to take the new 'continental' designs into account. The 70-page