The UK driving test and the Corgi models inspired by its legacy.
Over 85 years after the introduction of the UK driving test we look at the Corgi models inspired by its legacy.
Sometimes when you’re driving around the UK’s roads you’ll often come across situations where you wonder how in the world a particular driver passed their test. Whether it’s failing to indicate at a junction, overtaking in dangerous locations or, in one memorable case for us, seeing someone drive the wrong way down a motorway slip road, it seems that some people have long forgotten their driving lessons.
Well, before 1934 and the introduction of the Road Traffic Act anyone could just hop in their motor and start tootling along. Driver licenses were actually introduced in Britain several years before, thanks to the Motor Car Act of 1903, as a means of identifying vehicles and their drivers. All motor vehicles had to be registered, display registration marks and be licensed annually at a cost of 20 shillings. The fee for the first driving licence, obtained over the counter at a Post Office, cost five shillings.
In 1930 the Road Traffic Act controversially removed all speed limits for cars and by the early 1930s there were around 2.5 million cars on Britain’s roads. What’s more, although we may now think that ‘30s cars were lumbering relics, many of them could actually travel up to 70mph, meaning the 1930 Road Traffic Act allowed drivers to theoretically speed through inner city streets at 70mph.
However, these lax laws had a terrible result and in 1934 the highest ever numbers of road casualties were recorded – 7,343 deaths and 231,603 injuries. This is particularly amazing when you compare it to the stats for 2012 when 1,754 people were killed on the roads and 193,969 were injured (in fact this is the lowest death rate since records began).
As a result the 1934 Road Traffic Act re-introduced the 30mph speed limit for built up areas and required new drivers to take a test before they could obtain a licence. Initially they were voluntary but on 1 June 1935 they became compulsory. There’s a wonderful video that was made by the Ford Motor Company and narrated by Sir Malcolm Campbell (it can be viewed online thanks to the National Motor Museum), which shows one of the early tests. Actually it’s not that different to the tests we do today (apart from the hand signals) and involved an emergency stop, a three-point turn and a hill start.
A LEGACY IN TOYS
As the driving test became a British institution, it should really come as no surprise that, in its own way, it has inspired a number of different toys. One of the best known is almost certainly Corgi’s wonderful Austin A60 Deluxe Saloon Corgi Motor School Car. First released 30 years after the introduction of the driving test, the model came in two varieties – No.236 with right hand drive and No.255 with left hand drive.
The light blue vehicle came with L plates on the front and rear, complete with a tiny Corgi dog on both, while inside sat a pupil and his instructor. However, the model’s most impressive feature was the inclusion of a steering wheel control, allowing children to ‘drive’ their vehicle around pretend streets. The driving function came in the form of a large red steering wheel on the vehicle’s roof – made to look like an advert for the imaginary Corgi Motor School. Children could steer the car by turning the wheel in the correct direction. It was rather a revelation for Corgi models, which in the past had been steered by applying pressure to one side of the vehicle (ie leaning left on the car would turn it left).
However, not only was the model known as the Corgi Motor School Car, it also came with the
Corgi Junior Highway Code, which gave children their first glimpse of those all-important lessons they would need to pass the driving test. Although, to be honest, we’re not sure how much use it would be, seeing as some of the instructions just show diagrams of how to turn right or left. More useful are the road signs contained at the bottom of the leaflet.
Meanwhile, there’s a suggestion for budding driving instructors: “Teach your friends to drive. If any of your friends have Motor School Cars you can form a Driving School of your own. Learn the correct turns and road signs then teach them to others.” There’s also a great note saying the leaflet is actually the width of an average road, to scale with the car, and a top tip to map out local roads using the leaflet.
In 1974 Corgi followed up the Austin A40 with No.400 Volkswagen 1300 Corgi Motor School. The Beetle came in dark metallic blue with an orange interior, gold cast wheels and ‘Corgi Motor School’ decals to the doors. Once again it came with a steering wheel on the roof, however this time Corgi didn’t attempt to make it look realistic and just opted for a bright gold wheel instead. The following year Corgi released No.401, which included the same metallic blue Beetle but also had 24 bright red plastic cones that users could steer around. The box also included a neat diorama of other cars being put through their paces on a driving test.
But Corgi’s fascination with the driving test didn’t stop there and in 1980 it released the Corgi School of Motoring radio-controlled car. The bright orange Volkswagen Mk1 Golf came with a controller featuring a steering wheel to drive the car and orange cones to steer around. The rear of the box tells users to “practice left hand turns, right hand turns, reversing, parking, three point turns and many other maneuvers – just as if you were learning to drive.” Rather like the Motor School Car, the radio-controlled replica also included a motoring handbook to learn the Highway Code.
If only those people you see driving badly on the road had spent more time playing with the toys we’ve mentioned here, perhaps they would be better drivers? You see, collectables can actually be educational, as well as valuable!