Britain’s Red Flag Act Of 1865

Many people are superstitious or just afraid of new or unusual things, and Britain was no different when it came to technology, at least. When the early motorized vehicles came out, the British decided that there had to be a way to let pedestrians and horses know that theses “contraptions” were coming down the road. So, Britain implemented the Red Flag Act of 1865. The law required every motor vehicle to be led by a man on foot waving a red flag to alert pedestrians and horses of its approach. This odd rule capped speeds at 4 mph in the countryside and just 2 mph in towns, which made early cars slower than walking. I guess the only way it made sense would be if the vehicle had a passenger who couldn’t walk in it, but then again, they could have been transported in a wheelchair or cart. Still, I suppose that would not be acceptable within the part of the community that could afford a car.

The Red Flag Act had certain rules to it, including that the man walking on foot, called a flag bearer had to stay 60 yards ahead of the vehicle he was warning people about. The whole process turned car travel into an impractical and costly venture thanks to the need for a dedicated flag carrier. No worker in their right mind is going to walk around town ahead of their employer’s car without getting paid for it…right?

Basically, the law reflected Victorian fears about new technology and concern for horses, which were prone to panic when encountering the strange mechanical contraptions. Maybe the concern for the horses made sense, but they could and did get used to the automobiles eventually. Because of the Red Flag Act, the sale of automobiles to the British suffered. It all just made no sense. When a person can walk somewhere faster than they can drive it, they might as well walk. That made automobile manufacturers angry. Their business was suffering, so they lobbied against the Red Flag Act for over 30 years, arguing that it stifled innovation and made Britain’s automotive industry uncompetitive. It’s shocking to me that it took longer than 30 years to finally get that law repealed, but it wasn’t repealed until 1896, a fact that significantly delaying Britain’s eventual adoption of automobile technology, as compared to other European nations and the United States. When you think about it, fear and superstition can really be detrimental to progress and mental health.