The first maximum speed limit in the UK was 10 mph.
A series of Locomotive Acts (in 1861, 1865 and 1878) created the first numeric speed limits for mechanically propelled vehicles in the UK; the 1861 Act introduced a UK speed limit of 10 mph (16 km/h) on open roads in town, which was reduced to 2 mph (3 km/h) in towns and 4 mph (6 km/h) in rural areas by the 1865 “Red Flag Act.” The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which raised the speed limit to 14 mph (23 km/h) is celebrated by the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.