§ Mr. WATTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any power to regulate the speed of tramway cars in municipal areas; can he insist on such speed being reduced to ten miles per hour; is he aware that municipalities refrain from applying for the ten miles limit within their area because such limit would interfere with the speed of the municipal tramway cars; and will he introduce legislation dealing with this matter, in view of the number of accidents in large cities due to the speed of vehicles?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Buxton)The Board of Trade have power to fix the speed limits to be observed by tramway cars, and the matter is dealt with in the regulations made by the Board after inspection of the routes. The limits vary on different tramway systems, and on different sections of the same system, according to the gradients and curves on the lines and the local conditions generally, and I do not think that it would be in the public interests to fix a hard and fast limit of ten miles an hour. The question of the limitation of the speed of motor-cars is not governed by the speed limits fixed for tramcars, and comes within the province 1797 of my right hon. Friend, the President of the Local Government Board.