§ Bristol Road South (A.38)
§ Road Accidents between Lickey Road (Austin Motor Works) and City Boundary (Rubery)
§ The prime causes of the road accidents on the above stretch of road, as determined by the Police, between 1st January, 1950, and 31st December, 1952, are as follows:
| Drivers or Pedal Cyclists: | |
| Inattentive or attention diverted | 10 |
| Misjudging distance, clearance or speed (vehicles or objects) | 5 |
| Turning right without due care | 5 |
| Pulling out from near side without due care | 4 |
| Turning to left without due care | 1 |
| Stopping suddenly | 3 |
| Swerving | 3 |
| Skidding | 3 |
| Proceeding at excessive speed having regard to conditions | 3 |
| Reversing negligently | 2 |
| Losing control | 1 |
| Pedestrians: | |
| Heedless of traffic—crossing road not masked by stationary vehicle | 3 |
| Heedless of traffic—stepping, walking or running off footpath or verge | 3 |
| Heedless of traffic—crossing road masked by stationary vehicle | 2 |
| Heedless of traffic—playing in road | 2 |
| Heedless of traffic—walking or standing in road | 1 |
| Slipping or falling | 1 |
| Passengers, etc.: | |
| Negligence on part of conductor | 1 |
| Weather: | |
| Ice, frost or snow | 2 |
| Fog or mist | 1 |
| Cause not traced | 3 |
| 59 |
§ 19. Mr. Chapmanasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to what extent an area has to be built up, and how far the total of road accidents is taken into account before he imposes a 30 miles per hour speed limit on an urban road in a development area.
§ Mr. MolsonEach case is decided on the relevant facts. As was recognised by the Committee on Road Safety in their report on speed limits, published in 1949, 2072 no precise formulae can be applied generally.
§ Mr. ChapmanThe Minister knows that I am pressing him about this stretch of road. How far has the toll of life to go before we can get action?
§ Mr. MolsonThe toll of life at present is so heavy that we are taking all steps that we can to reduce it. It is for this reason that the Government resisted the Prayer that was moved last night to annul the Regulations dealing with pedestrian crossings. We do not believe that any useful purpose would be served by imposing a speed limit restriction in areas where it is not likely to be observed by motorists. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]