Advice | Highway Code Resources

How temperature affects tyre pressures and vehicle handling

The air temperature affects a tyre’s pressure by 0.19 pounds per square inch (PSI) every degree Celsius change. When it’s warmer we tend to experience problems with tyres being under-inflated. Tyres are often filled after a short drive to the…

Tagged with: tyres
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Are space saver wheels safe as a spare tyre?

Many car manufacturers provide a skinny space saver wheel (a temporary spare tyre) for use if you get a puncture. They save room in the boot which gives you more cargo space, and they weigh less than providing a full-sized…

Tagged with: tyres
Posted in Advice, Car

How Do Penalty Points Affect Your Insurance?

If you are convicted of a driving offence – anything from driving with defective brakes to causing death by dangerous driving – you are likely to end up with penalty points on your license. The penalty point system is designed…

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Posted in Advice

How hot does your car or lorry get in the sun?

In the middle of summer your car or lorry’s interior can heat up to more than thirty degrees hotter than the outside temperature, while the dashboard and steering wheel can be twenty degrees hotter still. Hundreds of children are left in…

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Safety and visibility for motorbike riders

Motorcyclists are especially at risk in low light (e.g. gloomy days, dawn and dusk) and at night where their smaller profile makes them more difficult to see, and where their one headlight makes it more difficult for other road users to…

Tagged with: lights, road safety
Posted in Advice, Motorbike

School safety zones

School safety zones are a stretch of road immediately outside a primary school where the speed limit is 20mph and no motor vehicle is allowed to stop or park during school operating times. Different schools have different operating hours, so…

Tagged with: school, speed limit
Posted in Advice

Motorway slip road design for effective joining and merging

Joining a motorway is a driving manoeuvre which can have a huge effect on surrounding traffic if done incorrectly. To make the maneouvre, match your vehicle’s speed with that of the vehicles already on the motorway, spot a gap, indicate…

Tagged with: motorway
Posted in Advice