HC Deb 09 December 1968 vol 775 cc19-21
18. Mr. Robert Howarth

asked the Minister of Transport how many accidents have occurred on the M6 motorway since it opened through vehicles crossing over the central reservation and striking vehicles travelling in the opposite direction; how many casualties were caused; and what is the estimated total financial cost of these accidents.

Mr. Bob Brown

Complete figures are not readily available, but on 58 miles of M6 in Lancashire there were 15 accidents of this kind between 1st January, 1965, and 31st October, 1968. These resulted in 13 fatal, 18 serious and 23 slight casualties. The estimated total financial cost of these is £52,000.

Mr. Howarth

Is my hon. Friend aware of the widespread concern about the severity of these accidents when they occur? Would not the cost of installing barriers be worth while because of the saving of resources and life that it would bring about?

Mr. Brown

In respect of the cost of accidents I have mentioned, the figure would work out at about £230 per mile per year, and even if the whole of that were saved it would nowhere near cover the cost of installing and maintaining crash barriers along the whole length of the road.

Mr. Scott-Hopkins

Why is the hon. Gentleman so complacent? People are being killed for lack of these barriers on motorways, not only on the M6 but on the M1? Will he look at this again and take positive steps?

Mr. Brown

We are not complacent. As I have already said, it has not been clearly established that this is the best way of spending limited money on road safety.

19. Mr. Robert Howarth

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider amending the criteria which determine whether a motorway should have a central median crash barrier so that the busiest sections of the M6 would have such barriers installed at an early date; and what would be the estimated cost of installing a central barrier.

Mr. Bob Brown

No, Sir. The criteria are designed to secure the most effective possible use of the resources available for this purpose over the country as a whole. It would not be right to make a special exception for M6. Any cost estimate would be hypothetical at this stage.

Mr. Howarth

I am aware of the present criteria which determine when a motorway will have a central barrier installed. Is my hon. Friend aware that the saving by erecting such a barrier in the immediate future would be considerable compared with the cost involved in delay by five years or so, when traffic will rise to the level required to meet the present criteria?

Mr. Brown

I take the point that it is cheaper to install a barrier at the time of building of a motorway but that still does not get us over the fact that, with limited resources, we must make the best possible use of our money.

Mr. Dudley Smith

Does not the hon. Gentleman think that the Ministry should revise its crash barrier policy? Is he aware that multiple accidents are on the increase on the Ml, particularly at weekends, when the traffic is getting increasingly heavy?

Mr. Brown

Clearly we need to keep this policy under constant review on all busy stretches of highway. Certainly the M1 is one of the motorways steadily approaching saturation point.