§ 14. Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now consider raising the 70 miles per hour speed limit on three-lane motorways.
§ Mr. PeytonNo, Sir.
§ Mr. SteelHas the right hon. Gentleman considered the effect of bunching at 70 mph on the motorways, the safety record in those countries with no speed limit, the effect on the motor industry of this restrictive limit, and the fact that the law is increasingly ignored by people in public life, including some of his ministerial colleagues?
§ Mr. PeytonI have considered all the factors to which the hon. Gentleman so graciously referred, and I have been unable to find any grounds for changing my mind.
Mr. J. T. PriceDoes not the Minister agree that the figures supplied to him by his officers in the Department show that the density of traffic on some of the motorways is now so great that many people are driven to question whether 70 mph is a safe limit? Instead of his being persuaded to raise the limit, there is a strong case for lowering it, in the extremely dangerous conditions now existing on our motorways, particularly in the North of England, where I happen to live.
§ Mr. PeytonI hope that it is not due to the hon. Gentleman's influence. What he says is true. There are occasions and places on the motorways where the traffic is far too dense for 70 mph to be safe. That is, of course, the maximum speed, and not the speed at which people are obliged to travel.