Except in a genuine emergency you MUST NOT use your mobile phone when driving. If you need to use it leave the motorway and find a safe place to stop. Even a hands-free phone can distract your attention. Use your voicemail to receive calls. Driving requires all of your attention, all of the time.

Active Traffic Management schemes are intended to reduce congestion and make journey times more reliable. In these areas the hard shoulder may be used as a running lane to ease congestion at peak times or in the event of an incident. It may appear that you could travel faster for a short distance, but keeping traffic flow at a constant speed may improve your journey time.

A casualty suffering from shock may have injuries that aren't immediately obvious. Call the emergency services then stay with the person in shock, offering reassurance until the experts arrive.

An immobiliser makes it more difficult for your vehicle to be driven off by a thief. It is a particular deterrent to opportunist thieves.

When a car is three years old (four years old in Northern Ireland), it must pass an MOT test and have a valid MOT certificate before it can be used on the road. Exceptionally, you may
• drive to a pre-arranged test appointment or to a garage for repairs required for the test
• drive vehicles that are more than 40 years old without an MOT test, but they must be in a roadworthy condition before being used on the road. See GOV.UK for more details.

This sign indicates that vehicles transporting explosives are prohibited from travel along the roadway behind it.

You should give way to traffic already on the motorway. Where possible they may move over to let you in but don’t force your way into the traffic stream. The traffic may be travelling at high speed so you should match your speed to fit in.

If you want to turn left and there’s a cyclist in front of you, hold back. Wait until the cyclist has passed the junction and then turn left behind them.

If the driver behind is following too closely there’s a danger they will collide with back of your car if you stop suddenly. You can reduce this risk by slowing down and increasing your safety margin ahead. This reduces the chance that you will have to stop suddenly and you can spread you braking out over a greater distance. This is an example of defensive driving.

Briefly using your hazard warning lights will warn the traffic travelling behind you that there's a hazard ahead. This can reduce the chance of vehicles crashing into the back of each other.

Look well ahead and only pull out if it is safe. You will need to use all of the road to pass the cyclist, so be extra-cautious. Look out for entrances to fields where tractors or other farm machinery could be waiting to pull out.

Route for trams only. The sign may include the bus symbol, the pedal cycle symbol and/or the word ‘taxi’ where these vehicles may use the tram route.

The licensing authority need to keep their records up to date. They send out a reminder when a vehicle's excise licence (road tax) is due for renewal. To do this they need to know the name and address of the registered keeper. Every vehicle in the country is registered, so it’s possible to trace its history.

The brakes on your vehicle must be effective and properly adjusted. If your vehicle pulls to one side when braking, take it to be checked by a qualified mechanic. Don’t take risks.

Every vehicle used on the road has a registration certificate. The document shows vehicle details including date of first registration, registration number, previous keeper, make of vehicle, engine size and chassis number, year of manufacture and colour.

Try not to brake or steer heavily as this will only make matters worse and you could lose control altogether. Keep calm and regain control by easing off the accelerator.

'No vehicles over height shown' sign. These indicate that vehicles over a certain width should avoid a narrow route. They indicate that it is an offence for over-height vehicles to pass.

You can overtake other traffic on either side when travelling in a one-way street. Make full use of your mirrors and ensure that it’s clear all around before you attempt to overtake. Look for signs and road markings and use the most suitable lane for your destination.

If your vehicle is required to have an MOT certificate you will need to make sure this is current before you are able to renew your vehicle excise licence (road tax). You can renew online, by phone or at certain post offices.

Keep a look-out for traffic signs. If you’re directed to change lanes, do so in good time. Don’t<br/>
• push your way into traffic in another lane<br/>
• leave changing lanes until the last moment.

Older people may have impaired hearing, vision, concentration and judgement. They may also walk slowly and so could take a long time to cross the road.

This sign indicates that there are waiting restrictions. It is normally accompanied by details of when restrictions are in force.
Details of most signs which are in common use are shown in The Highway Code and a more comprehensive selection is available in Know Your Traffic Signs.

At certain times of the day, traffic might be heavy. If traffic is moving slowly in queues and vehicles in the right-hand lane are moving more slowly, you may overtake on the left.