§ 44. Mr. Hunterasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation how many people were killed and injured in road accidents in 1958, compared with 1957.
§ Mr. NugentFive thousand nine hundred and seventy persons were killed and 293,797 injured in road accidents in 1958 as compared with 5,550 killed and 268,308 injured in 1957.
§ Mr. HunterIn view of the serious figures given by the Parliamentary Secretary, may I ask whether he will ask the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to undertake special campaigns this year to bring to the notice of the public the great danger now on the roads?
§ Captain PilkingtonCan my hon. Friend say whether accidents have increased in proportion to the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads?
§ Mr. NugentNo, they have not. The answer to the supplementary question of the hon. Member for Feltham (Mr. Hunter) is, yes. We have already discussed with the Royal Society its campaign for this year, and it is doing everything in its power to get over to the public the gravity of accidents and the necessity for all road users to show greater care when using the roads.
§ Mr. StraussCan the hon. Gentleman say how many hundreds of people have been, or are likely to be, killed as a result of postponing for three-and-a-half years the provisions of the vehicle road testing Clauses in the 1956 Act?
§ Mr. NugentI could not possibly estimate that figure, but, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, we are proceeding with that matter as fast as we can.