LOSE YOURSELF IN 1958

MIKE HAWTHORN BECOMES F1 CHAMPION

Hawthorn’s Ferrari finishes second to Stirling Moss’s Vanwall at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix. It was the first ever World Championship to be won by a British driver and Hawthorn’s last race. Afterwards, the great sportsman quipped that being asked ‘Why did you retire?’ was a much nicer question than ‘Why don’t you retire?’

DAWN OF THE AGE OF MOTORWAYS

It may sound like a cliché, but the opening of the Preston Bypass on December 5 represented more than a new road – it altered Britain’s perception of transport and communications. To prepare drivers, the government issued The Motorway Code, which contained helpful advice, such as reminding people that these new highways differed from other roads because ‘they have no sharp bends, roundabouts, traffic lights or crossroads.’

FIRST PARKING METERS ARRIVE IN THE UK

Anyone driving past the United States Embassy in Grosvenor Square on July 10 would have noticed the latest addition to the street furniture – the parking meter. The hourly rate was 6d while the fixed penalty fine of £2 for non-compliance was a hefty 80 times that amount.

The new Preston Bypass went on to form part of the M6. It was probably the UK’s fastest road in 1958 – but not if you broke down...