Car History. 09 The Red Flag Act

After being introduced to the genius young Maybach through Werner’s recommendation, Daimler took an interest in him and kept a watchful eye on his growth. Indeed, Maybach was a man with brilliant ideas. Without realizing it, Daimler became his mentor, and by 1865, when Maybach turned 19, he was already capable of designing excellent engines. From then until Daimler’s death in 1900, Maybach worked alongside him as his assistant and lifelong colleague.

One quiet morning in 1865, Maybach entered Daimler’s office holding a newspaper and greeted him.

“Good morning, Mr. Daimler.”

“Ah, good morning.”

Maybach continued, showing Daimler a page from the newspaper.

“Have you read today’s paper?”

“No, not yet. Has something important happened?”

“Well, yes. There’s an article I can’t quite understand.”

“What kind of article is it?”

“You’ll understand once you read this page.”

“All right then. While I read, could you bring me a cup of hot tea?”

Soon Daimler’s eyes fell on the page Maybach had opened. While Daimler read, Maybach boiled water and served the tea. By the time Maybach returned, Daimler had already finished reading, his eyes closed in thought, brows furrowed. He finally opened his eyes and spoke.

“Maybach, do you understand what this incident is about?”

“Yes, I understand the content, but I don’t know why Britain is imposing speed limits on steam cars.”

“Then let me explain. First, let’s consider the means of transportation today: horses, carriages, bicycles, and automobiles. Of these, the automobile draws the most attention. Their power sources vary—coal, electricity, and more—but the most widely used is the steam car. However, steam cars, while convenient, are also dangerous.”

Maybach nodded in agreement, and Daimler continued.

“As you know, on the streets, carriages and automobiles mix. Sometimes horses are startled, leading to overturned carriages, or cars collide with carriages, causing fires from the boilers of steam cars—people burned alive in terrible accidents. To achieve higher speeds, more coal must be fed into the boiler to raise pressure. As a result, the smoke from steam car chimneys blackened people’s clothes and laundry hanging outside. In England, many commercial steam buses are on the streets, weighing 8 tons at the smallest and up to 30 tons at the largest. If the pressure in these massive boilers rises too high, explosions occur, causing dreadful accidents.”

Daimler paused to sip his tea, then continued.

“Most likely, to prevent such accidents, Britain thought of imposing these restrictions.”

“Ah, I see. Limiting speed and making laws to protect people—it sounds like a good idea.”

“Yes, but in my view, this British law is too strict. With regulations like this, the development of automobiles in Britain will be stifled. Britain, once one of the world’s greatest nations in mechanical technology, will fall behind. Truly unfortunate.”

The British law Daimler referred to was the “Red Flag Act,” the world’s first automobile law.

Before 1865, countless types of commercial steam buses appeared on British streets, weighing from 8 to as much as 30 tons. Built of cast iron to carry many passengers, they frequently caused horrific accidents by overheating boilers, leading to explosions, and created heavy pollution, drawing strong protests from citizens.

Moreover, train and carriage manufacturers, whose businesses were threatened by the new automobile industry, lobbied against cars. With their support, in 1865 the British Parliament passed the Red Flag Act in the name of Queen Victoria.

Although politically motivated, the law served to warn against automobiles. In fact, the idea of the horn as a warning device can be traced back to the Red Flag Act.

The world’s first automobile law included the following:

① Each automobile must be manned by three drivers. One must walk 55 meters ahead of the car, carrying a red flag by day and a red lantern by night to warn of its approach.

② The maximum speed is limited to 6.4 km/h in open country, and 3.2 km/h in towns.

③ A tax must be paid for every 2 tons of weight, and tolls must be paid at every city or county border.

④ At night, cars must operate with candles or gas lamps.

Streets of Britain after the Red Flag Act was enacted

In the early 1800s, Britain, once considered a remote rural country, rose to global dominance with James Watt’s modification of Newcomen’s engine into the steam engine. The steam engine powered the transformation from small-scale cottage industries to large-scale factory industries. With high-quality, low-cost goods and powerful warships, Britain became an unrivaled global power.

France and Germany, with their rich history and culture, could not compete with Britain’s economic and military superiority. Especially after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany remained poor, reduced to an economic subcontractor for Britain. Because of the enormous investment required, France and Germany could not easily install steam engines or build modern infrastructure.

Thus, they dreamed of inventing a small, powerful, and efficient type of engine to compete with Britain—an engine that could be installed in factories cheaply and bring prosperity.

But Britain’s Red Flag Act, the world’s first traffic law, froze the nation’s automobile industry. Cars capable of speeds of 40 km/h were restricted to 6.4 km/h. For 30 years, from 1865 to 1896, Britain’s technological development in engines stagnated, costing it its dominance in innovation.

After the Red Flag Act, France advanced faster than Germany. In 1860, Étienne Lenoir invented an internal combustion engine using coal gas and exhibited it at the Paris World’s Fair, giving France a golden opportunity to create a new history. But the French government, distracted by political strife after the fall of Napoleon’s monarchy and the return of the Second Republic, failed to act.

Seven years later, in 1867, Germany’s Nikolaus A. Otto exhibited a more advanced four-stroke internal combustion engine at the Paris World’s Fair, similar to the modern gasoline engine in today’s cars.

Though the Red Flag Act was repealed in 1896, by then France and Germany had already entered the automobile era. For Britain, the Red Flag Act had been a tragic law, costing it its place as the global leader.

Meanwhile, along with the Red Flag Act, Britain also introduced traffic signals in London in 1868. On the streets, where slow steam cars traveled at 6.4 km/h, policemen operated gas-lit signals with red and green glass panels by hand. But frequent gas explosions injured policemen, so these signals were replaced first with candle lamps, then oil lamps, remaining in use until long after gasoline cars were invented.

The complicated streets of Britain