These counterfeit copies, as well as breaking copyright law, contain errors that could “potentially put road users at risk of breaking the law or, even worse, having an accident. As well as this, it could cause failure in both theory and practical tests.”
Advising pupils and others who may have recently bought a copy of the Highway Code to be aware of the issue, DVSA have also identified three differences between an official and fake version. These are:
- “Compare the bar code numbers; the official copy has an ISBN number above its barcode.
- On the fake version, the logos on the front cover of the book are slightly pixelated.
- The official version of The Highway Code has a matte cover, the fake version has a glossy cover.”
With hundreds of thousands of copies of The Highway Code sold every year, it is a regular feature of non-fiction bestseller lists. What we don’t want, or need is it to feature on the fiction lists too. If you know or have anyone learning to drive currently, make sure they are working to the correct version.