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Highway Code · Rule 280

Highway Code Rule 280

Breakdowns and incidents (275 to 287). Advisory guidance you are expected to follow.

  • Breakdowns and incidents
  • Advisory rule
  • OGL v3.0

What the rule says

Advisory

Rule 280 (Obstructions (rule 280)) If anything falls from a vehicle on to a motorway or other high-speed road, DO NOT remove the obstruction yourself. Stop in a place of relative safety (see Rule 275) and call the emergency services on 999. On other roads, you should only remove obstructions if it is safe to do so.

Rule text reproduced verbatim from the official Highway Code (Crown copyright) under the Open Government Licence v3.0, see the attribution at the foot of this page.

In plain English

Stripped of the formal wording, Rule 280 comes down to one idea: rule 280 (Obstructions (rule 280)) If anything falls from a vehicle on to a motorway or other high-speed road, DO NOT remove the obstruction yourself. It is advice rather than law, but examiners and the courts still treat it as the expected standard of safe driving.

It belongs to the breakdowns and incidents part of the Code, the habits a confident, considerate driver builds until they are automatic. The aim is not to memorise the sentence word for word, but to understand the hazard it protects you from, so you apply it without having to think when it counts.

If you are learning, treat this rule as one piece of a connected set rather than an isolated fact. The related rules below sit in the same section and reinforce each other, reading them together is how the breakdowns and incidents part of the Code starts to feel like common sense rather than a list to revise.

Because this is advisory rather than legal, no one will fine you for the rule alone, but ignoring it can still count against you in a careless-driving case, and it will cost you faults on the test. Either way, the safe move is to build the habit early, while a driving instructor can correct it, rather than relearning it under test pressure. That is exactly what the practice routes and coaching in the DriveRoutes app are designed to help with, turning the rules below into the way you naturally drive.

Why rule 280 matters on the road

How you behave after a breakdown or incident protects you, your passengers and the people who stop to help. A calm, well-rehearsed response prevents a bad situation from becoming a dangerous one.

Common faults examiners record

In the breakdowns and incidents part of the Code, the faults most often written on the marking sheet tend to be the same handful. Knowing them in advance is the quickest way to drive them out of your own habits:

  • Acting too late because the situation was read close rather than early.
  • Incomplete observation before committing to a manoeuvre.
  • An unsuitable speed for the road, the traffic or the conditions.

On the day

On the day, applying Rule 280 is about doing the safe, deliberate thing slightly earlier than feels necessary: read the situation in good time, observe fully, and act smoothly. The examiner is looking for planned driving, not perfection, and good habits formed in lessons carry you through.

Quick checklist

  • Read the situation early and plan your response.
  • Observe fully before you commit to anything.
  • Keep your speed suitable for the road and conditions.

More from Breakdowns and incidents

Related Highway Code rules

Rule 280, your questions

Rule 280 (Obstructions (rule 280)) If anything falls from a vehicle on to a motorway or other high-speed road, DO NOT remove the obstruction yourself. It is advisory guidance rather than law, but you are still expected to follow it and an examiner can mark a fault if you do not.

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