Car Ownership

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    Nash

    Cards (21)

    • Over 200,000 horsedrawn carriages in 1923 to 12,000 in 1937
    • 1934 - nearly 2.5 million cars on British roads, of which half were privately owned
    • Rover 10/25 cost £250 in 1929
    • Into the 30s, and car prices dropped: Austin Seven cost £125 and the Morris Minor SV was the first £100 car
    • Car boom = major engineering projects like the Mersey Tunnel in 1934
    • Road Traffic Act 1930 removed speed limits from all but most dangerous parts of the road. 20 mph limit was almost unenforcable
    • Road Traffic Act 1930 did introduce compulsory third party insurance, Highway Code and powers for local authorities to control traffic
    • 1926-30 - 124,000 car crashes in Britain resulting in over 4,800 deaths. Motorists caused 80% of these deaths.
    • 1934 - 7,343 road deaths.
      New Road Traffic Act introduced as a result; reduced speed limit to 30 mph. Introduced driving test!
    • Rationing of petrol until 1950
    • After the war, cars afflicted with more faults and mistakes. Increasing reliance on imports due to autocratic management style of British industries.
      • When Callaghan ordered 2 new ministerial cars, they had to be returned with 34 faults
    • 2.2 million cars registered in London alone by the end of the 60s - as many as there had been in the entire country 3 decades ago
    • By 1972, there were 13 million drivers on Britain's roads, many going for cheaper and better cars from countries like Japan
    • 1/3 of cars were imported in 1975 (up from just 1% at end of the 40s), for example,the Golf.
    • Consumerism = less loyalty to a particular brand
    • In the 1950s, men could commute, so new villages such as Tewin Wood in Hertfordshire were built to accommodate them
    • 1952-69: 58 billion km - 286 billion km
    • 1958 - Preston bypass road opened, first 8 mile stretch of motorway followed in 1959 with M1
    • 1932 - possible to travel to Australia using colonies as refuelling stations.
    • 1970 - number of flights went to 14 million - cheaper flights pioneered by Laker Airlines.
    • THE BEECHING AXE
      • Dr Richard Beeching, head of British Transport Commission, recommended prioritisation of road travel
      • Axed 5000 miles of railway despite public opposition
      • 3000 miles had already been cut in the 50s, though. Inevitable?
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