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Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to follow the established road and traffic laws in the location they are driving. The word driving, has etymology dating back to the 15th century and has developed as what driving has encompassed has changed from working animals in the 15th to automobiles in the 1800s. Driving skills have also developed since the 15th century with physical, mental and safety skills being required to drive. This evolution of the skills required to drive have been accompanied by the introduction of driving laws which relate to not only the driver but the driveability of a car.
The term "driver" originated in the 15th century, referring to the occupation of driving working animals like pack or draft horses. It later applied to electric railway drivers in 1889 and motor-car drivers in 1896. The world's first long-distance road trip by automobile occurred in 1888 when Bertha Benz drove a Benz Patent-Motorwagen from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany. Driving requires both physical and mental skills, as well as an understanding of the rules of the road.
In many countries, drivers must pass practical and theoretical driving tests to obtain a driving license. Physical skills required for driving include proper hand placement, gear shifting, pedal operation, steering, braking, and operation of ancillary devices. Mental skills involve hazard awareness, decision-making, evasive maneuvering, and understanding vehicle dynamics. Distractions, altered states of consciousness, and certain medical conditions can impair a driver's mental skills.
Safety concerns in driving include poor road conditions, low visibility, texting while driving, speeding, impaired driving, sleep-deprived driving, and reckless driving. Laws regarding driving, driver licensing, and vehicle registration vary between jurisdictions. Most countries have laws against driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Some countries impose annual renewals or point systems for driver's licenses to maintain road safety.
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.35 million people are killed each year in road traffic; it is the leading cause of death for people age 5 to 29.[1]
Shropshire (/ˈʃrɒpʃər, -ʃɪər/; historically Salop[3] and abbreviated Shrops) is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh counties of Wrexham and Powys to the west. The largest settlement is Telford, and Shrewsbury is the county town.
The county has an area of 3,487 square kilometres (1,346 sq mi) and a population of 498,073. Telford (155,570), in the east of the county, and Shrewsbury (76,782), in the centre, are the only large towns. Shropshire is otherwise rural and characterised by market towns such as Oswestry (15,613), Bridgnorth (12,212), and Newport (11,387). The county contains two districts, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, which are both unitary areas.
Shropshire is generally flat in the north and hilly in the south, where the Shropshire Hills AONB covers about a quarter of the county, including The Wrekin, Clee Hills, Stiperstones, Long Mynd, and Wenlock Edge.[4][5] Part of the Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve, which extends into Wales, occupies the low-lying north west of the county.[6] The River Severn, Great Britain's longest river, runs through the county in a wide, flat valley before exiting into Worcestershire south of Bridgnorth. The village of Edgmond, near Newport, is the location of the lowest recorded temperature (in terms of weather) in England and Wales.[7]
There is evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age human occupation in Shropshire, including the Shropshire bulla pendant. The hillfort at Old Oswestry dates from the Iron Age, and the remains of the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum date from the Roman period.[8][9] During the Anglo-Saxon era the area was part of Mercia. During the High Middle Ages the county was part of the Welsh Marches, the border region between Wales and England; from 1472 to 1689 Ludlow was the seat of the Council of Wales and the Marches, which administered justice in Wales and Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.[10] During the English Civil War Shropshire was Royalist, and Charles II fled through the county — famously hiding in an oak tree — after his final defeat at the Battle of Worcester.[11] The area around Coalbrookdale is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[12][13]
