1.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Animal
–
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom emerged as a clade within Apoikozoa as the group to the choanoflagellates. Animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives and their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs, they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance, most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals can be divided broadly into vertebrates and invertebrates, vertebrates have a backbone or spine, and amount to less than five percent of all described animal species. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the remaining animals are the invertebrates, which lack a backbone. These include molluscs, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, flatworms, cnidarians, ctenophores, the study of animals is called zoology. The word animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, the biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans. Aristotle divided the world between animals and plants, and this was followed by Carl Linnaeus, in the first hierarchical classification. In Linnaeuss original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, in 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms, Metazoa and Protozoa. The protozoa were later moved to the kingdom Protista, leaving only the metazoa, thus Metazoa is now considered a synonym of Animalia. Animals have several characteristics that set apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular, which separates them from bacteria and they are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals. With a few exceptions, most notably the sponges and Placozoa and these include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and nerve tissues, which send and process signals
3.
Pedestrian
–
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using tiny wheels such as skates, skateboards. In modern times, the term refers to someone walking on a road or pavement. Walking has always been the means of human locomotion. The first humans to migrate from Africa, about 60,000 years ago and they walked along the coast of India to reach Australia. They walked across Asia to reach the Americas, and from Central Asia into Europe, during the 18th and 19th centuries, pedestrianism was a popular spectator sport just as equestrianism still is in places such as Great Britain and the United States. One of the most famous pedestrians of that period was Captain Robert Barclay Allardice, known as The Celebrated Pedestrian and his most impressive feat was to walk 1 mile every hour for 1000 hours, which he achieved between 1 June and 12 July 1809. This feat captured many peoples imagination, and around 10,000 people came to watch over the course of the event. During the rest of the 19th century, many tried to repeat this feat, including Ada Anderson who developed it further. Since the 20th century, interest in walking as a sport has dropped, racewalking is still an Olympic sport, but fails to catch public attention as it did. However major walking feats are still performed, such as the Lands End to John o Groats walk in the United Kingdom, and these feats are often tied to charitable fundraising and are undertaken by celebrities such as Sir Jimmy Savile and Ian Botham as well as by others. Regular walking is important both for health and for the natural environment. Frequent exercise such as walking tends to reduce the chance of obesity, general availability of public transportation encourages walking, as it will not, in most cases, take one directly to ones destination. Roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the sidewalk in North American English, the pavement in British English, and the footpath in Australian and New Zealand English. There are also not associated with a road, these include urban short cuts and also rural paths used mainly by ramblers, hikers. Footpaths in mountainous or forested areas may also be called trails, pedestrians share some footpaths with horses and bicycles, these paths may be known as bridleways. Other byways used by walkers are also accessible to vehicles, there are also many roads with no footpath. Some modern towns are designed with the network of sidewalks and cycle paths almost entirely separate from the road network, the term trail is also used by the authorities in some countries to mean any footpath that is not attached to a road or street
4.
Cycling
–
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. Persons engaged in cycling are referred to as cyclists, bikers, or less commonly, apart from two-wheeled bicycles, cycling also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now approximately one billion worldwide. They are the means of transportation in many parts of the world. Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fuels, less air or noise pollution. These lead to financial cost to the user as well as to society at large. By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve, in many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a utility bicycle. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road, utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extends their usefulness on a daily basis. As the bicycle is so effective as a means of various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita, road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles, the price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000, depending on quality, type and weight. However, UCI regulations stipulate a legal race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg, being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying. The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered, a middle grade dérailleur is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hillclimbing a triple-chainrings crankset gear system may be preferred, otherwise, the relatively lighter and less expensive double chainring may be better. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available, many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a pump, a repair kit, a spare inner tube, and tire levers
5.
Motorcycling
–
In developing countries, motorcycles are overwhelmingly utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy. Of all motorcycles, 58% are in the Asia Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, motorcycles are mainly a luxury good in developed nations, where they are used mostly for recreation, as a lifestyle accessory or a symbol of personal identity. Beyond being a mode of transportation or sport, motorcycling has become a subculture. Although mainly a solo activity, motorcycling can be social and motorcyclists tend to have a sense of community with each other. For most riders, a motorcycle is a cheaper and more convenient form of transportation which causes less commuter congestion within cities and has less impact than automobile ownership. Others ride as a way to stress and to clear their minds as described in Robert M. Pirsigs book Zen. Pirsig contrasted the sense of connection experienced by motorcyclists with the isolation of drivers who are always in a compartment, Pirsig portrayed motorcycling as being in completely in contact with it all. The connection to ones motorcycle is sensed further, as Pirsig explained, Pirsig felt that connection deepen when faced with a difficult mechanical problem that required walking away from it until the solution became clear. Similarly, motorcyclists experience pleasure at the feeling of being far more connected to their motor vehicles than in a motorcar, speed draws many people to motorcycling because the power-to-weight ratio of even a low-power motorcycle is in league with that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of many modestly priced sport bikes is well beyond any mass-market automobile, the fastest accelerating production cars, capable of 0 to 60 mph in under 3. Hunter S. Thompsons book Hells Angels includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits, with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, thats when the strange music starts. A sensation he compared to feeling the earth moulding herself under me, and heaving and tossing on each side like a sea. Where permitted, lane splitting, which is known as filtering. In the UK, motorcycles are exempt from the £11.50 per day London congestion charge that other vehicles must pay to enter the city during the day. Motorcycles are also exempt from toll charges at such river crossings as the Severn Bridge, Dartford Crossing, such cities as Bristol provide dedicated free parking and allow motorcycles to use bus lanes. In the United States, motorcycles may use high-occupancy vehicle lanes in accordance with federal law and pay a lesser fee on some toll roads. In New Zealand, motorcycle riders need not pay for parking that is controlled by an arm, the arm occupies less than the entire width of the lane. Many car parks that are controlled so supply special areas for motorcycles to park as to save space
6.
Driving
–
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a motorized vehicle with wheels, such as a car, motorcycle, truck, or bus by either a human or computer controller. The origin of the driver, as recorded from the 15th century, refers to the occupation of driving working animals. The verb to drive in origin means to force to move and it is first recorded of electric railway drivers in 1889 and of a motor-car driver in 1896. Early alternatives were motorneer, motor-man, motor-driver or motorist, french favors conducteur, while German influenced areas adopted Fahrer, and the verbs führen, lenken, steuern —all with a meaning steer, guide, navigate— translating to conduire. Her official reason was that she wanted to visit her mother, but unofficially she intended to generate publicity for her husbands invention, the automobile took off greatly afterwards and the Benzs family business eventually evolved into the present day Mercedes-Benz company. The 7. 6-mile journey took two hours, the descent was accomplished by putting the engine in low gear and doing lots of braking. In certain countries, especially the Scandinavian countries, driving and its equivalent word in the language has become a colloquialism for action in a general sense. For instance, the phrase Lets drive means roughly the same thing as the more common Lets go, Driving in traffic is more than just knowing how to operate the mechanisms which control the vehicle, it requires knowing how to apply the rules of the road. An effective driver also has an understanding of the basics of vehicle handling. Although direct operation of a bicycle and an animal are commonly referred to as riding. Driving over a distance is referred to as a road trip. A driver must have physical skills to be able to control direction, acceleration, another survey indicated that music could adversely affect a drivers concentration. Seizure disorders and Alzheimers disease are among the leading causes of mental impairment among drivers in the United States. Whether or not physicians should be allowed, or even required, to such conditions to state authorities. Driveability of a means the smooth delivery of power, as demanded by the driver. Typical causes of driveability degradation are rough idling, misfiring, surging, hesitation, a driver is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which he or she is driving. Most countries also have differing laws against driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, aggressive driving and road rage have become problems for drivers in some areas. Some countries require a vision screening test for individuals to acquire or renew a drivers license, a 2010 systematic review found insufficient evidence to assess the effects of vision screening tests on subsequent motor vehicle crash reduction
7.
Road signs in the United Kingdom
–
Road signs used in the United Kingdom conform broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique and direction signs omit European route numbers. There is a vast range of signs in use on British roads, from directional sign posts, to signs warning of possible hazards ahead, by the early 1880s all three organisations were erecting their own cast-iron danger boards. The HDs were active in the erection of semi-standardised directional signs, the rise of motoring after 1896 saw the pattern repeated. The larger motoring clubs, notably The Automobile Association and the Royal Scottish Automobile Club erected their own, idiosyncratic warning boards and direction signs on a wide scale. In addition, under the Motor Car Act 1903, four national signs were created, supposed to be set at least 8 ft from the ground and 50 yards from the reference point. These signs were interesting in being based on shape, rather than text or image, a ring, a white diamond, a red disc. In spite of this beginning, this format of sign was to develop into the British road sign that was standard from 1934 until 1964. Before this time, until 1933, when regulations for traffic signs were published under powers created by the Road Traffic Act 1930, national road signage specifications were only advisory. Following a review of national signage in 1921 a limited number of warning and hazard information plates were enhanced by the use of symbols, rather than text only. Such symbols had been developed in continental Europe as early as 1909, but had been dismissed by the UK, the symbols were simple silhouettes, easy to read at a distance. Some were peculiarly British, SCHOOL depicted by the torch of knowledge. These saw the end of the very individual black and yellow vitreous enamel AA signs, while the RSAC had ceased erecting signs, the Royal Automobile Club had begun to do so to RTA specifications and was very active in this respect in the late-1930s. Lettering and symbols were black on a white ground except for orders which were white on blue and it was accompanied by its derestriction a white disc with a diagonal black band bisecting it. Neither of these signs required separate information plates, the 1934 RTA&R also clarified direction and distance signage which also remained in that form until 1964. All signs were mounted on posts painted in black and white stripes, the HALT plate was unique in being T-shaped, orders were mainly landscape and warnings always portrait. Sizes were strictly prescribed, the plate being 21x12 inches with the surmounting triangle 18 inches equal. In preparation for invasion during World War II, all navigational signposts and railway station signs were removed, the national signs were subject to minor modification, mainly in the early post-World War II years. For instance, SCHOOL became a schoolboy and girl marching off a kerb, CHILDREN a boy, a train CROSSING NO GATES was given a more toy-like locomotive
8.
Road surface marking
–
Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information, they are commonly places with road marking machines. They can also be applied in other facilities used by vehicles to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses, Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians. Uniformity of the markings is an important factor in minimizing confusion and uncertainty about their meaning, however, countries and areas categorize and specify road surface markings in different ways — white lines are called white lines mechanical, non-mechanical, or temporary. Road surface marking can also indicate regulation for parking and stopping, there is continuous effort to improve the road marking system, and technological breakthroughs include adding retroreflectivity, increasing longevity, and lowering installation cost. Mechanical devices may be raised or recessed into the road surface, most are permanent, some are movable. Cats eye, invented by Percy Shaw in the 1930s, Cats eyes equip many major routes in the British Isles and they consist of four reflective lenses mounted in a durable white rubber housing, two facing fore and two facing aft. The housing is mounted within a cast iron shoe, which the rubber housing sinks in to when driven over and this provides protection from snow ploughing and allows the lenses to be self-cleaning—they pass a rubber blade when depressed. The lenses are available in a variety of different colours, mainly white, yellow/orange, green, red, Botts dots, named for the California Caltrans engineer Elbert Botts, who invented the epoxy that keeps them glued down, are one type of a mechanical non-reflective raised marker. Generally they are used to mark the edges of traffic lanes, Botts dots are also used across a travel lane to draw the drivers attention to the road. They are frequently used in this way to alert drivers to toll booths and they are normally only used in warm climates since snow plows usually remove them along with the snow. Rumble strips are used for the same purpose. A rumble strip can be a series of troughs that is ground out of the asphalt. Other alternatives, similar to the Botts dots, use raised strips, a specific form of raised strips using thermoplastic is called profile thermoplastic markings. The markings are created by fusing thermoplastic to the pavement and create alternating elevation and recession pattern and this can be done as inverted-profile markings or raised-profile markings. Inverted-profile markings are created by pressing a cog rolling over the markings while they are wet to make them corrugated, raised-profile markings are created by extruding extra thickness of thermoplastic at a specific interval to create bumps. Raised-profile markings are known as convex traffic lines. Uses of rumble strips can be across the direction or along the travel direction. Their main way of function is creating a strong vibration when driven over that will alert a driver to various upcoming hazards both by sound and the vibration of the vehicle
9.
Road traffic safety
–
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers and this threshold will vary from crash scenario to crash scenario, depending upon the level of protection offered to the road users involved. At the highest level is sustainable prevention of injury and death crashes. At the second level is real time risk reduction, which involves providing users at risk with a specific warning to enable them to take mitigating action. The third level is about reducing the risk which involves applying the road design standards and guidelines, improving driver behavior. Road traffic crashes are one of the world’s largest public health, the problem is all the more acute because the victims are overwhelmingly healthy before their crashes. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year, the report also noted that the problem was most severe in developing countries and that simple prevention measures could halve the number of deaths. The standard measures used in assessing road safety interventions are fatalities and killed or seriously injured rates, countries caught in the old road safety paradigm, replace KSI rates with crash rates — for example, crashes per million vehicle miles. For occupants, Joksch found the probability of death for drivers in multi-vehicle accidents increased as the power of impact speed. Injuries are caused by sudden, severe acceleration, this is difficult to measure, however, crash reconstruction techniques can estimate vehicle speeds before a crash. Therefore, the change in speed is used as a surrogate for acceleration and this enabled the Swedish Road Administration to identify the KSI risk curves using actual crash reconstruction data which led to the human tolerances for serious injury and death referenced above. Interventions are generally easier to identify in the modern road safety paradigm, whose focus is on the human tolerances for serious injury. For example, the elimination of head-on KSI crashes simply required the installation of a median crash barrier. Also, roundabouts, often with speed reducing approaches, encounter very few KSI crashes, the old road safety paradigm of purely crash risk is a far more complex matter. Contributing factors to highway crashes may be related to the driver, interventions may seek to reduce or compensate for these factors, or reduce the severity of crashes. A comprehensive outline of interventions areas can be seen in management systems for road safety, in addition to management systems, which apply predominantly to networks in built-up areas, another class of interventions relates to the design of roadway networks for new districts. Such interventions explore the configurations of a network that will reduce the probability of collisions. Most injuries occur on urban streets but most fatalities on rural roads, for example, in 2013, German autobahns carried 31% of motorized road traffic while accounting for 13% of Germanys traffic deaths
10.
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
–
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport. The agency was launched on 1 April 2014, taking over the responsibilities of the Driving Standards Agency. The responsibilities of DVSA only cover Great Britain, in Northern Ireland the same role is carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Agency. DVSA sets the standards for drivers and vehicles in Great Britain and it tests and enforces those standards through the driving test and the MOT scheme
11.
United Kingdom driving test
–
Tests vary depending on the class of vehicle to be driven. In Great Britain it is administered by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, the minimum age at which one can take a UK driving test is currently 16 for mopeds and 17 for cars. There is no age limit. In addition to a licence, a CBT certificate may be required before a moped or motorcycle is ridden. In GB around 1.6 million people sit the practical car test per year, with a rate of around 43%. UK driving licences were introduced by the Motor Car Act 1903, a test for disabled drivers was introduced by the Road Traffic Act 1930. Legislation for compulsory testing was introduced for all new drivers with the Road Traffic Act 1934. The test was initially voluntary to avoid a rush of candidates until 1 June 1935 when all people who had started to drive on or after 1 April 1934 needed to have passed the test, testing was suspended during World War II. Testing was suspended again during the Suez Crisis in 1956 to allow help to administer petrol rations. The driving theory test was introduced in July 1996 as an examination which was updated to a computer-based test in 2000. The hazard perception test was introduced in November 2002, in January 2015 new CGI clips replaced the real life video clips in the Hazard Perception Test. Currently, there are two tests that need to be passed in order to obtain a driving licence. First the theory test and then, within 2 years of passing this and this enables the candidate to book a practical driving test. This part of the theory test is performed on a computer system, the test has 50 multiple choice questions and the candidate must answer at least 43 of them correctly to pass. All questions are selected from a bank of just under one thousand on a selection of topics. The test lasts for 57 minutes although candidates with certain special needs can apply for more time, all 50 questions must be answered. The test allows 15 minutes practice time at the start of the exam to get used to answering the questions, to answer a question the candidate simply touches their choice of answer from the listed answers on the computer screen. If a mistake is made the candidate can deselect a choice, the candidate is allowed to go back to a question at any time and can also flag questions they are unsure of in order to find and return to it quickly and easily later
12.
Great Britain
–
Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
13.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
14.
Scotland
–
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
15.
Wales
–
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
16.
Driver location sign
–
Only roads in England feature these signs, they are not found on roads in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This information might be useful in the event of an emergency or breakdown and they were first introduced in 2003, and they complement distance marker posts. Both types of display an unique location number. The number, although given without units, is the distance in kilometres from a designated location for the road. While the driver location signs are metric, other road signs throughout the UK use imperial measurements, since at least 1980, motorways have had distance marker posts installed at 100 metre intervals alongside the hard shoulder. These posts are used to help pinpoint road locations for maintenance and emergency purposes, on the M25 for example, distances are referenced to a point near Junction 31 even though the section of the ring road between Junction 31 and Junction 1a is the A282, not the M25. On motorways distance marker posts also bear an arrow pointing towards the location of the nearest emergency telephone, the number used on distance marker posts is also encoded into the numbers associated with motorway emergency roadside telephones. In this way motorway control centre staff can pinpoint the telephone from which a call is being made, items of highway furniture are commonly uniquely identified by a code number attached to or stencilled onto them. On motorways the number from the closest distance location marker is incorporated into such identifiers. They are also sent in the signal from traffic cameras to identify the location of the camera and these signs give the same location information as distance marker posts, but more visibly on larger signs, which are generally placed at 500-metre intervals. If obstacles prevent signs from being spaced at 500-metre intervals, then the interval must be reduced to either 400 or 300 metres. By the end of the 2009 financial year,80 percent of Englands motorway network had been fitted with 16,000 driver location signs at a cost of £5.9 million. It was expected that the remaining 20% of the network would be covered by April 2010 at a cost of £1.6 million. As of July 2009 driver location signs had not been erected in Scotland, by the early 2000s mobile phones were being used as the primary means of reporting accidents. This required the government to rethink marker posts, the need for more visible roadside location information was shown in 2007, in an incident on a motorway before the driver location signs had been erected. The Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service reported that after a collision on the M5. Callers gave the operators locations stretching over 40 miles of road, as a result, four emergency service centres were mobilised instead of just one. Research on trial sections of motorways showed that emergency service organisations responded 10 percent more rapidly when a motorway had driver location signs than when it did not
17.
Bilingual sign
–
A bilingual sign is the representation on a panel of texts in more than one language. The use of signs is usually reserved for situations where there is legally administered bilingualism or where there is a relevant tourist or commercial interest. However, more informal uses of bilingual signs are found on businesses in areas where there is a high degree of bilingualism. Beyond bilingualism, there is a tendency toward the substitution of internationally standardized symbols. The use of signs has experienced a remarkable expansion in recent times. The increase in bilingualism there has been paralleled by increases in international travel, as a result, all street signs in the Brussels Capital Region are bilingual in Dutch and French. Another example is the German-speaking South Tyrol, which was annexed to Italy during World War I, in observance of international treaties, Italy was eventually compelled to acknowledge and accommodate its German-speaking citizens through the use of bilingual signs and countless other measures. In Greece, virtually all signs are bilingual, with the Greek text in yellow font, if the sign is Greek only, an equivalent sign in English will often be situated nearby. Bilingual signs are used in the Republic of Ireland, with all roads, towns. The Irish appears on the top of the sign with the English underneath, the exception to this is in Gaeltacht regions, where only Irish language signage tends to be used. In Finland, the multilingual signs appeared at the end of the 19th century, the signs were in the official languages Swedish, Finnish and, during that period, also Russian. After the independence of Finland, the signs became bilingual Finnish - Swedish in the bilingual areas of the country. Bilingual signs are used in the United Kingdom, in Wales, Welsh and English are official languages and most road signs are bilingual. Each local authority decides which language is shown first, in Scotland, Scottish Gaelic is increasingly visible on road signs, not only in the north-west and on the islands, but also on main primary routes. Railway station signs and signs on buildings such as the Scottish Parliament are increasingly bilingual. In parts of Slovenia, where languages other than Slovene are official and this regulation is not always strictly enforced, but nevertheless all road signs in these areas are bilingual. In Turkey bilingual village signs are used in Eastern Anatolia Region Airports, european airports have signs that are generally bilingual with the local language and English, although there are significant variations between countries. In multilingual countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, airports generally have signs in three or four languages, provincial road signs are also bilingual in French-designated areas of Manitoba and Ontario
18.
Northern Ireland
–
Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the north-east of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the total population. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament, Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles, its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17. 2% in 1986, dropping to 6. 1% for June–August 2014,58. 2% of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year. Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison, Rory McIlroy, Joey Dunlop, Wayne McCullough, some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish while others prefer to identify as British. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, in many sports, the island of Ireland fields a single team, a notable exception being association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games, and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games. The region that is now Northern Ireland was the bedrock of the Irish war of resistance against English programmes of colonialism in the late 16th century, the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland had been declared by the English king Henry VIII in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Victories by English forces in war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the victories of the Siege of Derry and their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws, the new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the British North American colonies and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the US. By the close of the century, autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, in 1912, after decades of obstruction from the House of Lords, Home Rule became a near-certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been the unionists main guarantee that Home Rule would not be enacted, in 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of Home Rule
19.
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
–
The pre-decimal penny was a coin worth 1/240th of a pound sterling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius and it was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper. The plural of penny is pence when referring to a quantity of money, thus 8d is eight pence, but eight pennies means specifically eight individual penny coins. Before Decimal Day in 1971 twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e. g.42 pence would be three shillings and sixpence, pronounced three and six. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence and this version of the penny was made obsolete in 1971 by decimalisation, and was replaced by the decimal penny which had a value 140% more. The kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged by the 1707 Act of Union to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the penny replaced the shilling of the pound scots. The design and specifications of the English penny were unchanged by the Union, Queen Annes reign saw pennies minted in 1708,1709,1710, and 1713. These issues, however, were not for circulation, instead being minted as Maundy money. The prohibitive cost of minting silver coins had meant the size of pennies had been reduced over the years, the practice of minting pennies only for Maundy money continued through the reigns of George I and George II, and into that of George III. In 1797, the government authorised Matthew Boulton to strike copper pennies and twopences at his Soho Mint in Birmingham. At the time it was believed that the value of a coin should correspond to the value of the material it was made from. This requirement meant that the coins would be larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the rim where the inscription was incuse i. e. punched into the metal rather than standing proud of it. These pennies were minted over the course of years. By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased, however, in the next ten years the intrinsic value of copper rose. The return of privately minted token coinage was evident by 1811 and endemic by 1812, the Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. To thwart the further issuance of private token coinage, in 1817 an Act of Parliament was passed which forbade the manufacture of private token coinage under very severe penalties
20.
IPhone
–
IPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. They run Apples iOS mobile operating system, the first generation iPhone was released on June 29,2007, the most recent iPhone model is the iPhone 7, which was unveiled at a special event on September 7,2016. The user interface is built around the devices multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard, the iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. Other functionality, such as games, reference works, and social networking. As of January 2017, Apples App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the iPhone, Apple has released ten generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the ten major releases of the iOS operating system. The iPhone 5 featured a taller, 4-inch display and Apples newly introduced Lightning connector, in 2013, Apple released the 5S with improved hardware and a fingerprint reader, and the lower-cost 5C, a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings instead of metal. They were followed by the larger iPhone 6, with models featuring 4.7 and 5. 5-inch displays.5 mm headphone jack found on previous phones. The iPhones commercial success has been credited with reshaping the smartphone industry, the original iPhone was one of the first phones to use a design featuring a slate format with a touchscreen interface. Almost all modern smartphones have replicated this style of design, in the US, the iPhone holds the largest share of the smartphone market. As of late 2015, the iPhone had a 43. 6% market share, followed by Samsung, LG, Apple CEO Steve Jobs steered the original focus away from a tablet and towards a phone. Apple created the device during a collaboration with Cingular Wireless at the time—at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months. Apple rejected the design by committee approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, among other deficiencies, the ROKR E1s firmware limited storage to only 100 iTunes songs to avoid competing with Apples iPod nano. Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9,2007, the passionate reaction to the launch of the iPhone resulted in sections of the media dubbing it the Jesus phone. Following this successful release in the US, the first generation iPhone was made available in the UK, France, and Germany in November 2007, on July 11,2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six. Apple released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories. Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8,2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, many would-be users objected to the iPhones cost, and 40% of users had household incomes over US$100,000. The back of the original first generation iPhone was made of aluminum with a black plastic accent, the iPhone 3G and 3GS feature a full plastic back to increase the strength of the GSM signal. The iPhone 3G was available in an 8 GB black model, the iPhone 3GS was available in both colors, regardless of storage capacity
21.
IPod Touch
–
The iPod Touch is an iOS-based all-purpose handheld PC designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a user interface that is touchscreen-based. It can be used as a music and video player, digital camera, handheld game device, furthermore, it does not fit in Apples iPhone accessories such as their leather cases. As of May 2013,100 million iPod Touch units had been sold and it is also the most popular iPod model. The current iPod touch is the model, released on July 15,2015. Users type on a keyboard displayed on the screen. Apple operates a store, allowing users to buy and directly download music, videos. Successive updates to iOS since the release in 2007 have released additional features. IPhone OS2.0, released on July 11,2008, introduced the App Store, iPhone OS3.0, released on June 17,2009, added features such as cut, copy, and paste, data tethering and push notification support. IOS4.0, released on June 21,2010, introduced iBooks, FaceTime and it dropped support for the first generation iPod Touch. In June 2011, iOS5, the major release of iOS software, was announced at Apples WWDC2011. Apple limited some features, most notably the control system Siri. IOS6, which was released on September 19,2012 to the fourth and fifth generation iPod Touch models, contains 200 new features including Passbook, Facebook integration and Apple Maps. The fifth generation iPod Touch gained the ability to take panoramic photos, on June 8,2015, it was announced at the WWDC that the iPod Touch fifth generation would support iOS9, along with other A5 devices. This makes the iPod Touch fifth generation the only iPod Touch to support 4 major versions of iOS. Apples position was that they could add features for free to the iPhone because the revenue from it is accounted for on a basis under accounting rules. At WWDC in June 2010, as of iOS4, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had found a way to make subsequent OS upgrades available free to iPod Touch owners. To purchase content on the iPod Touch, the user must create an Apple ID or have an existing account, with this account one may download music and videos from the iTunes Store, apps from the App Store, or books from the iBookstore. An Apple ID account created without a card can be used to get free content
22.
IPad
–
IPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. which run the iOS mobile operating system. The first iPad was released on April 3,2010, the most recent iPad models are the 9. 7-inch iPad Pro released on March 31,2016, the user interface is built around the devices multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPad includes built-in Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity on select models, as of January 2015, there have been over 250 million iPads sold. IPad tablets are second most popular, by sales, against Android-based ones, since 2013, an iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions – games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, as of March 2016, the App Store has more than one million apps for the iPad by Apple and third parties. There have been six versions of the iPad, the first generation established design precedents, such as the 9. 7-inch screen size and button placement, that have persisted through all models. The third generation added a Retina Display, the new Apple A5X processor with a graphics processor, a 5-megapixel camera, HD 1080p video recording, voice dictation. The fourth generation added the Apple A6X processor and replaces the 30-pin connector with an all-digital Lightning connector, the iPad Air added the Apple A7 processor and the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, and reduced the thickness for the first time since the iPad 2. The iPad Air 2 added the Apple A8X processor, the Apple M8 motion coprocessor, an 8-megapixel camera, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, there have been four versions of the iPad Mini. The first generation features a screen size of 7.9 inches and features similar internal specifications as the iPad 2 except it uses the Lightning connector. The iPad Mini 2 features the Retina Display, the Apple A7 processor, the iPad Mini 3 features the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The iPad Mini 4 features the Apple A8 and the Apple M8 motion coprocessor, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said in a 1983 speech that the companys strategy is really simple. What we want to do is we want to put a great computer in a book that you can carry around with you. And we really want to do it with a link in it so you don’t have to hook up to anything and you’re in communication with all of these larger databases. Apples first tablet computer was the Newton MessagePad 100, introduced in 1993, powered by an ARM6 processor core developed by ARM, Apple also developed a prototype PowerBook Duo based tablet, the PenLite, but decided not to sell it in order to avoid hurting MessagePad sales. Apple released several more Newton-based PDAs, the one, the MessagePad 2100, was discontinued in 1998. Apple re-entered the mobile-computing markets in 2007 with the iPhone, smaller than the iPad, but featuring a camera and mobile phone, it pioneered the multi-touch finger-sensitive touchscreen interface of Apples iOS mobile operating system. By late 2009, the release had been rumored for several years
23.
Green Cross Code
–
The Green Cross Code is a brand created by the National Road Safety Committee to raise awareness of pedestrian road safety in the United Kingdom. The multimedia Green Cross Code campaign began in 1970 and continues today, the Green Cross Code replaced the earlier Kerb Drill pedestrian safety campaign, the Kerb Drills military style was deemed confusing to children by safety authorities. Tufty Fluffytail, a red squirrel character, was created in 1953 by Elsie Mills MBE to introduce clear. The success of the led to the creation in 1961 of the Tufty Club for children under five years of age. Under its auspices more than 30,000 Tufty books about road safety were issued to parents, at its peak there were nearly 25,000 branches of the Tufty Club throughout the UK, and by the early 1970s an estimated two million children were members. The movement continued into the 1980s, the Green Cross Code itself is a short step-by-step procedure designed to enable pedestrians to cross streets safely. While the Code has undergone changes over the years, the basic tenets have remained more or less the same. The 2005 version of the Green Cross Code reads as follows, find the safest place to cross, then stop. Stand on the pavement near the kerb, look all around for traffic, and listen. WAIT UNTIL ITS SAFE TO CROSS, if traffic is coming, let it pass. When its safe, walk straight across the road, keep looking and listening The Green Cross Man is a costumed superhero character created in 1970 as an aid to teaching young children the Green Cross Code, and for promoting general road safety. The light-hearted spots ran on UK television from 1975 to 1990, in the films, Green Cross Man has the power to teleport from his monitoring station at Green Cross Control to any location where children are in need of pedestrian safety instruction. He accomplishes this by use of a wristwatch-like dematerialiser device, on these missions he is sometimes accompanied by a whimsical robot companion. His signature exclamation of surprise or disbelief is Green Crosses. the Green Cross Code Man was revived with two short films produced for Road Safety Week 2014. David Prowse again took the role, at the age of 79. The new campaign aimed to adults the dangers of using smartphones, wearing headphones. The film was updated to cartoon form, voiced by Derek Griffiths. In 1983, the television adverts employed a Green Cross Code rap based on the hit The Message by Grandmaster Flash, the original lyrics of Dont push me cos Im close to the edge were replaced with Dont step out when youre close to the edge
24.
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
–
This conference also produced the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which complements this legislation by standardising international traffic laws. Amendments, including new provisions regarding the legibility of signs, priority at roundabouts, both the Vienna Convention and the Geneva Protocol reflected a common consensus on road traffic signs that evolved primarily in Europe in the mid-20th century. Most jurisdictions outside Europe have not adopted either treaty, and maintain their own systems of traffic signals. An alternative convention called the SADC-RTSM, provided by the Southern African Development Community, is used by 11 countries in southern Africa and it follows many of the similar rules and principles as in the Vienna Convention. When more than one is available, the one must be used nationally. All signs, except for those that do not apply at night, the convention also specifies road markings. All such markings must be less than 6 mm high, with cats eye reflectors no more than 15 mm above the road surface, the road markings shall be white or yellow. All words painted on the surface should be either of place names, or of words recognisable in most languages. Red lights must be placed on top when lights are stacked vertically, or on the side closest to oncoming traffic if stacked horizontally
25.
Driving Standards Agency
–
The Driving Standards Agency was an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport. DSA promoted road safety in Great Britain by improving driving and motorcycling standards and it set standards for education and training, as well as carrying out theory and practical driving and riding tests. The responsibilities of DSA only covered Great Britain, in Northern Ireland the same role was carried out by the Driver & Vehicle Agency. It was announced on 20 June 2013 that DSA would merge with the Vehicle, the name of the new agency was confirmed as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on 28 November 2013. The DSA was abolished on 31 March 2014, and the DVSA took over its responsibilities on 1 April 2014, DSA is a national organisation with headquarters in Nottingham, training and learning materials centre at Cardington in Bedfordshire and administrative centres in Cardiff and Newcastle. DSA employs around 2,400 staff around Great Britain and run tests from around 400 practical driving test centres, Theory tests are carried out at around 150 theory test centres. DSA is a Trading Fund with a turnover of over £184 million in 2009-10 mainly funded through fees, the DSAs mission and primary aim is to continually promote road safety by influencing driver and rider behaviour. By March 2011 it plans to employ a total of 2,769 staff, dependent on trading, the chief executive is accountable to the Secretary of State for ensuring that the DSA meets its obligations and delivers its targets and services. The chief executive has overall responsibility for the DSAs activities, ensuring it meets its financial obligations, the Director General of Motoring and Freight Services, Steve Gooding, is the additional accounting officer. The chief executive is supported by a board, including two non-executive directors. The executive board’s role is to support and advice. The executive board meet on a monthly basis, the change board, attended by the chief executive and appropriate directors, oversees the development and effective management of the DSA’s investment plan of change projects and programmes. The operational performance group, which meets monthly is chaired by the operations director and attended by senior managers, monitors performance against targets. Before learning to drive a car, moped or motorcycle, a driving licence must be obtained. If a driver already holds a full driving licence but wishes to drive larger vehicles, minibuses or buses. For those holding a provisional licence, taking the theory test is the step before acquiring a full licence. For cars and motorcycles candidates are asked 50 questions in 57 minutes, for lorries and buses, there are 100 questions in 115 minutes and the pass mark is 85 out of 100. The hazard perception test is the part of the driving theory test
26.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
27.
Driving licence in the United Kingdom
–
In the United Kingdom, the driving licence is the official document which authorises its holder to operate motor vehicles on highways and other public roads. They are administered in England, Scotland and Wales by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, similar requirements apply in Northern Ireland under the Road Traffic Order 1981. UK nationals do not normally have identity cards, a modern photo driving licence can serve many of the purposes of an identity card in non-driving contexts, however, there have been attempts to replace its use in this way with Identity cards. Applications for a driving licence can be made starting at the age of 15 years and 9 months. Until a United Kingdom driving test has been passed, a driver may hold only a licence and are subject to certain conditions. The rules on what a driver can tow are different depending on when they passed their driving test, if a driver passed their car test before 1 January 1997 they are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250 kg MAM. They are also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750 kg MAM, R plates are similar in style to L plates, with a thick-set dark orange R displayed on a white background. After passing a driving test, the licence may be surrendered within two years in exchange for a full UK licence for the relevant kind of vehicle. Full car licences allow use of mopeds and motorcycles provided a CBT course is completed and these six points remain on the new licence until their designated expiry time. While a manual transmission vehicle licence permits the holder to drive a vehicle of either kind, the licence also shows if a driver requires glasses or contact lenses to meet the legal driving requirements, if known. Forklift trucks require a licence, issued by third-party training companies rather than the DVLA or DSA. The union flag has been included on UK licences since July 2015, Driver registration was introduced in 1903 with the Motor Car Act. Holders of the sulphur-yellow coloured document were entitled to drive a car or motor cycle. The wording was changed in 1930 after which holders were allowed to drive or steer a car or to drive a motor cycle. Shortly afterward, the document cover was changed to a red colour. Holders were for a period entitled to drive a vehicle of any class or description, subsequent changes saw the document list precisely those vehicle types for which holders were licensed. The only person in the United Kingdom who is not required to have a licence in order to drive is The Queen. She also does not require number plates on any vehicles which are owned by herself or her closest family members
28.
Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom
–
Methods used include those for detection and prosecution of contraventions such as roadside fixed speed cameras, average speed cameras, and police-operated LIDAR speed guns or older radar speed guns. Vehicle activated signs and Community Speed Watch schemes are used to encourage compliance, some classes of vehicles are fitted with speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation is being trialled in some places on a voluntary basis. The Department for Transport estimated that cameras had led to a 22% reduction in personal injury collisions, the British Medical Journal recently reported that speed cameras were effective at reducing accidents and injuries in their vicinity and recommended wider deployment. In May 2010 the new Coalition government pledged to scrap public funding for speed cameras, opposition politicians and some road safety campaigners claimed that lives were being put at risk. A survey conducted by The Automobile Association said that use of speed cameras was supported by 75% of their members, enforcement is used to increase compliance with speed limits. One of the motivations for enforcement is to reduce road casualties. For 2008, exceeding the limit was reported as one of the contributory factors in 5% of all casualty collisions. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents estimates that a pedestrian has a 90% chance of surviving being hit by a car at 20 mph, falling to 50% chance at 30 mph and to 10% at 40 mph. The government noted that the change from mainly survivable injuries to mainly fatal injuries takes place at speeds between 30 and 40 mph, one third of drivers thought that the chances of a pedestrian dying if hit at 40 mph was 50% or less. Parliament noted that most deaths of pedestrian occurred in urban areas, a 2003 survey of drivers for the Department for Transport found that 58% break speed limits on 30 mph roads and 25% break them by more than 5 mph. 57% break speed limits on motorways and 20% break them by more than 10 mph, in 2002 the Select Committee on Transport stated that Most drivers and pedestrians think speeds are generally too high but 95 per cent of all drivers admit to exceeding them. Groups most likely to speed excessively are those driving in a work related capacity, members of high income households, motorcyclists also frequently speed as do HGV drivers commonly on single carriageway main roads where their speed limit is 50 mph. There are many used by authorities, in places where the speed limits are not generally observed. There are several types of speed camera in use, Speed cameras must be calibrated and certified before the images from it are acceptable to the court, including the cameras used in police vehicles. Owners of vehicles photographed may be contacted with a Notice of Intended Prosecution requiring them to provide the name, if they do not provide this information they may receive a Court summons for Failing to Furnish Driver Details. Higher speeds result in prosecution by way of a Conditional Offer Fixed Penalty which can be settled by accepting a £100 fine, excessive speed offences are automatically sent to the court. These cameras are installed beside a road and record the speed of vehicles. These cameras then transmit the image and speed to the authorities virtually instantly, Police officers can use LIDAR speed guns or sometimes the older and less accurate radar speed guns to gather evidence for prosecution
29.
Road speed limits in the United Kingdom
–
The speed limit in each location is indicated on a nearby traffic sign or by the presence of street lighting. Signs show speed limits in miles per hour or use the speed limit symbol. The speed limit is 70 mph on motorways,70 mph on dual carriageways,60 mph on single carriageways and 30 mph in areas with street lighting, Other classes of vehicles are subject to lower limits on some roads. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by speed limiters, ever since they have been introduced, speed limits have been controversial. Default maximum speed limits apply to all roads where no specific lower numeric speed limit is already in force, the default speed limit is known as the national speed limit. The NSLs vary by type and for vehicle types. Some classes of vehicles are required to have speed limiters which enforce a maximum speed by physical means, older vehicles still in use do not have limiters fitted or have them set at a higher speeds. New vehicles should be fitted with limiters as follows, Buses and coaches, Speed limit road signs are used to inform road users where speed limits other than the applicable national speed limit apply. For some types of vehicles, on types of road. Variable speed limits are used on some major traffic roads and these can be changed in response to weather, traffic levels, time of day or for other reasons with the currently applicable speed limit is displayed using an electronic road sign. Variable speed limits were introduced on some congested major routes as an element of controlled motorway techniques to improve traffic flows for given prevailing conditions, part-time variable speed limits may also be used outside schools. Rarely, minimum speed limits are used, such as through the Mersey Tunnels, to free flow. Circular blue signs with white numbers indicate the start of these limits, according to the government, speed limits are used to help achieve appropriate traffic speeds for safety, and environmental and accessibility reasons. The Department for Transport state that speed limits play a role in the effective management of traffic speeds in relation to the safety of both drivers and all other road users. The 30 mph speed limit in built-up areas was introduced in 1930 in response to high casualty levels, the 70 mph limit on previously unrestricted roads was introduced in 1965 following a number of serious motorway accidents in fog earlier the same year. The report highlights that when two cars crash at 60 mph a driver there is a 90% chance of death which falls to 65% at 50 mph, while recommending 20 mph speed zones the committee noted that these zones should not rely on heavy-handed enforcement measures. In 2008 14% of collisions reported to the police had a speed related contributory factor reported rising to 24% for fatal accidents, exceeding the speed limit was reported as a contributory factor in 5% of collisions and 14% of fatal collisions. The highest number of road fatalities recorded in a year in GB was 9,196 in 1941
30.
British School of Motoring
–
The British School of Motoring is a driving school in the United Kingdom, providing training in vehicle operation and road safety. BSM has around 1000 driving instructors, rACs parent company, Aviva, sold BSM to Arques Industries AG in February 2009. The AA then announced stock market flotation in June 2014, queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom learned to drive with the BSM. British School of Motoring founded in 1910 was an independent and private educational organisation like the Chelsea College of Aeronautical, both were founded by their principal, S C H Roberts. Born in 1889 Stanley Coryton Hugh Roberts died in September 1957 and was succeeded as managing director of both BSM and The College of Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering by Miss Denise McCann
Media related to Highway Code at Wikimedia Commons
The full text of The Highway Code (1931) at Wikisource
