Highway Code celebrates 80 years on the road


One of Britain’s best selling and most iconic publications - the Highway Code - is now 80 years-old.


The fi rst edition was published on 14 April 1931 in a bid to cut down on the number of accidents taking place on Britain’s roads. Despite the fact there were just 2.3 million motor vehicles at the time, over 7,000 people were killed in road accidents that year.


The Highway Code quickly became the ‘must read’ publication for those using the road and is now recognised the world over. The Code is now used by millions of drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians every year and has even been featured in TV drama storylines.


Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “The Highway Code is the offi cial guide to using the roads safely and responsibly. The Code has helped to save thousands of lives over the last 80 years, which is cause for celebration.


“The Highway Code is not just for new drivers, it holds crucial information for everyone from experienced motorists and motorcyclists to horse riders and pedestrians. The publication offers the latest information on the rules of the roads and road safety advice, as well as promoting greater courtesy and understanding among all road users. Its long-standing success is one of the reasons why Britain’s roads are among the safest in the world”.


The Highway Code has moved with the times and is now available in a variety of formats, including online from the Directgov website, as a download and on CD ROM with a voice-over for people with reading diffi culties.


IT Blog by Colin Fyfe Should I “auto-update”?


Automatic software updates can be important but more often than not are an unnecessary nuisance. Some useful examples of these are your operating system (Windows) updates or patches. These are quite important as they help the platform on which most other software sits. Another regular update would be your antivirus defi nitions, again, important because viruses are developing and changing on an hourly basis.


Some other software companies feel that their products also require regular updates. Examples include Skype, Itunes, Java, Real player, Printer software updates, Google Updater, Logitech desktop, and my favourite; Adobe.


Basically your antivirus defi nitions are one thing but some software behaves like it has a given right to disrupt work and slow your machine for the sake of a pdf document for example.


This would be ok if these ill timed annoyances were trained to the requests


of the user, but nearly always we have no obvious say in what we want to be updated and when. Adobe insists in installing a bigger


and bigger version of essentially the same thing every time it updates to a new version. We may get more functionality out of it, but all we wanted was a simple pdf reader!


Keep an eye on any new software installation and if you fi nd a box that says “Automatically check for updates”, if you uncheck it, you will never know what you miss out on, except the hassle.


Call: 07748 944 622 or see Colcom advert on page 7 for all computer enquiries.


| www.advertizer.co.uk| 01505 874385 | 27


Apply for out-of-pocket expenses for a cancelled driving test


Sometimes the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has to cancel driving tests at short notice. If your test is cancelled at short notice, you might be able to claim for any out-of-pocket expenses you had to pay. Find out if you can claim and how to do it.


You can download a claim form to apply for out-of-pocket expenses if DSA cancelled your driving test at ‘short notice’.


DSA will refund certain expenses that you had to pay on the day of the test if they cancelled your test at short notice. However, DSA does not pay expenses if your test was cancelled because of bad weather or poor light.


Find out more at www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_196463


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