HC Deb 09 February 1966 vol 724 cc371-3
1. Sir W. Anstruther-Gray

asked the Minister of Transport what preliminary reports she has received regarding the working of her 70 miles per hour speed limit.

8. Sir Clive Bossom

asked the Minister of Transport if she will make a statement on accident rates on motorways and other roads previously not subject to speed limits since the experimental 70 miles per hour limit was introduced, and on accident rates during the equivalent period of the previous year.

18. Mr. Jopling

asked the Minister of Transport if she will give an assurance that, following the end of the experiment for a 70 miles per hour speed limit on all roads until Easter 1966, she will remove this restriction whilst she assesses the results of the experiment.

34. Mr. Rowland

asked the Minister of Transport when it will be decided whether the 70 miles per hour speed limit experiment should end on 13th April 1966.

57. Mr. Burden

asked the Minister of Transport how the accident figures for the first full month after the imposition of the 70 miles per hour speed limit on roads classified as motorways compare with the accident figures on the same roads in the same month last year.

The Minister of Transport (Mrs. Barbara Castle)

It would not be practicable, without being misleading, to give a series of interim reports during the four months that the present experiment will be in operation. The evidence referred to in the answer to the hon. Member for Leominster (Sir Clive Bossom) on 2nd February will become available during March, and will cover all relevant factors up to the latest possible date. After considering this evidence I will let the House know my conclusions. This will be before the end of the present experiment on 13th April.

Sir W. Anstruther-Gray

May we take it from that that the right hon. Lady will promise the House and the country that we will have an opportunity of debating this matter before the 70 m.p.h. speed limit becomes permanent?

Mrs. Castle

As I have said, I will inform the House of my conclusions before the end of the period. Questions concerning debates are not for me.

Mr. Rowland

Would my right hon. Friend give an assurance that if the early evidence on this subject is inconclusive, she will feel able to extend the period of the experiment despite the clamour from the small minority of motorists who like to drive very fast?

Mrs. Castle

I must be guided by the analysis of the situation which will be put to me by the Road Research Laboratory. I will study all the implications then.

Sir Clive Bossom

Is it not a fact that the Road Research Laboratory and the police will not have had time to study the results by April and be able to come to a firm conclusion? Will the right hon. Lady therefore assure the House that she will not ask for a further extension of time?

Mrs. Castle

I am satisfied that the Road Research Laboratory will have time but if it feels that it has not had time, it will no doubt let me know.

Mr. Jopling

Would the right hon. Lady not agree that, in terms of, for example, prosecutions, it will be very difficult in the final month of the four-month period to make an assessment of the first three months of the experiment? Would she look again at Question No. 18 and remove this restriction at the end of the four-month period until she has worked out properly what the effect of the experiment has been?

Mrs. Castle

I am satisfied that the procedure which has been announced will enable me to work out properly what the effect of the experiment has been, and I will report to the House the reasons for the conclusions which I may draw.

Mr. Wilkins

Is it not a fact that my right hon. Friend has considerable evidence to show that many accidents are due to excessive speeds, and will she at least tell the House that she intends to resist sectional pressures in the interests of road safety?

Mrs. Castle

It is certainly true that there is evidence from other countries to show that excessive speed is a cause of accidents and that a reduction in speed helps to reduce accidents. It is because there was this evidence that we felt justified in making this experiment.

Mr. Burden

Would the right hon. Lady not agree that she has available the figures for which I have asked, that they could be produced without any difficulty and that they would help to show to both motorists and the public whether this scheme is practicable and is doing the job for which it was intended?

Mrs. Castle

I have told the House that it would not be practicable, without being misleading, to make interim statements. I have promised the House that I will make known to hon. Members both my conclusions and the reasons for them very fully before the end of the experimental period. Thus the rights of the House are fully safeguarded.

Sir M. Redmayne

Is the right hon. Lady aware, however, that the time available for Praying against Orders of this type runs out within the next two or three weeks? Since it is important that we debate the many, many representations that have been made to us and since we will have to have a debate on this subject, will she try very hard to have at least some part of the evidence available by that time?

Mrs. Castle

As I have said, these are matters for discussion through the usual channels. I have no desire to impose a situation on the House without hon. Members having a proper opportunity of studying what I am recommending.