Britain’s most familiar motoring rulebook has been given an unlikely makeover.

The Highway Code has been transformed into a bedtime story audiobook.

Producers state that this is not meant to be a sleep aid but is designed to help drivers learn or relearn the rules of the road while drifting off to sleep.

Dual purpose

The unusual project pairs legendary motoring presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson with Scrap Car Comparison.

Its creators describe it as “the world’s most boringly brilliant sleep aid”.

However, they state it is not just aimed at curing insomnia, but helping drivers invigorate their understanding and recall.

The Highway Code: Bedtime Story is now available to stream free on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Podcasts and YouTube.

Make do and mend

The idea is built on two simple observations: that the Highway Code is widely regarded as dry reading, and that millions of people already use audio to help them fall asleep.

According to research cited by the company, more than half of drivers have not opened the Highway Code since passing their test, despite it remaining the essential guide for everyone using the road.

A 2024 study by GoCompare found 55% of motorists had not revisited the book since qualifying.

Scrap Car Comparison decided to stop fighting the Code’s reputation for dullness and instead lean into it.

If the text is already soporific, the thinking goes, why not turn it into a deliberate sleep aid – and sneak in a refresher on lane discipline, stopping distances and crossings along the way?

Driver improvement

Vicki Butler-Henderson, best known for her high-energy presenting on programmes such as Top Gear and Fifth Gear, recorded the audiobook in a deliberately slow and soothing style.

The sessions took place in a Cambridge hotel room transformed into “Vicki’s Bedroom” to create a calm, intimate atmosphere.

“When I first heard the idea, I loved it,” she said. “Road safety is important to everyone, and if we can help people absorb a bit more of the Highway Code while drifting off to sleep, what’s wrong with that?”

The project also draws on growing interest in sleep-based learning.

A YouGov survey found nearly six in ten drivers struggle to get consistently restful sleep, while more than a third already use audio to unwind at night.

10% regularly fall asleep while listening to podcasts.

Scrap Car Comparison partnered with sleep expert Dr Deborah Lee to explore whether learning during the transition to sleep might be possible.

Dr Lee explained that the hippocampus – the part of the brain involved in memory – is highly active during sleep, and that sounds played during REM sleep can be recognised when replayed the next morning.

Method in the…

While the audiobook makes no claims of turning listeners into expert drivers overnight, its creators hope it will at least encourage people to refresh their knowledge of rules that change over time.

Matt Clamp, customer service manager at Scrap Car Comparison, said the company wanted to deliver an important safety message “in a fun, unexpected way”.

“If people sleep better and become more informed, more considerate road users as a result, that can only be a good thing,” he said.

The project has been developed with official permission to use the Highway Code text, though the Department for Transport stressed it does not constitute an endorsement.

Whether it becomes a nightly ritual for motorists remains to be seen.

But for a rulebook most drivers last read in their teens, the prospect of revisiting pelican crossings and motorway merging as a bedtime story may be the most relaxing revision session yet.