Painted mudguards

[Swifty]

We're mudguards pre war painted with white paint to the lower 9 inches have read somewhere it was law during the war but does any body have info about bikes prior to this as have found this on my runwell project but this doesn't fit in with the approx date of bike which I thought was about 1927 the paint on the mud guards does not look like it was applied later can only assume it's from new

 

[youngoldbloke]

Apparently
"It became law in the UK on 18th October 1934 under the 'Road Traffic Acts 1930 to 1934, the Pedal Cycles (White Surface) Provisional Regulations.
It was introduced amidst a number of other measures in an attempt to reduce the appaling number of road accident casualties resulting from a combination of poor roads, no driving test, no maximum speed limit and no compulsory rear light on cycles. Road casualties in the early thirties were running at twice the current rate, on one tenth of the present motor traffic. Rear cycle reflectors only had been made compulsory under the Road Transport Lighting Act of 1927. The white patch was required to be of 12 square inches, centered 13 inches above the ground".
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=62022&start=15http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=62022&start=15

 

[Swifty]

Thanks for that info sort of fits in for the date of my bike . Do you think bikes prior to 1930 were built like this or only after October 1934

 

[youngoldbloke]

My interest was prompted - and my memory stirred of bikes with white 'patches' in my younger days - when I read about the post war regulations in a copy of the 'Cycling Manual' 22nd edition, 1950, that I acquired recently. Other than that, and the information posted above, I know little more. I wouldn't have thought the white patch would have been applied before it was required by law, unless some manufacturers were anticipating the law. White discs were also used on some bikes

 

[Swifty]

Thanks for all the help it seems as though it puts my project somewhere about 1935 which was what the original owner thought .this helps a little bit because this is the only way I can date it I have a serial number but nothing else which I can't date because runwell kept no records