CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD HUMPS BY ROADS AUTHORITY (Hansard, 20 June 1984)

§ Mr. Maxton
I am curious about clause 35(a), A road is subject to a statutory speed limit of 30 mph or less for motor vehicles. If we put road humps into a road, we are attempting to lower the speed limit well below 30 mph. Any car driver will recognise the fact that if he hits a hump on a road at 30 mph he will do himself, his car and his passengers considerable damage. I would have thought that it was not enough to write in a 30 mph limit. The purpose of humps is to lower the speed limit considerably below the statutory limit. There is one such hump on the road leading to Jordanhill college of education——

§ Mr. Dewar
There are several.

§ Mr. Maxton
As my hon. Friend says, there are several. We drove up there last Friday to a school mock United Nations assembly, at which we were honoured guests. The speed limit on that road is 10 mph. On other private roads that I have seen there is a speed limit of either 10 mph or 15 mph. A limit of 30 mph, which will be a statutory obligation, is too high and could cause considerable problems to drivers. If they hit those humps at 30 mph, it will not be comfortable.

§ Mr. Bill Walker
I do not disagree with anything that the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) said. I do not know whether that statement will worry him.

§ Mr. Maxton
There must have been something wrong with it.

§ Mr. Walker
Yes, there must have been. I have noticed that on fast roads, as one approaches roundabouts or other hazards, one meets what are humps or lumps—they are certainly changes in the surface—which are a warning that one is approaching the hazard. Can my hon. Friend tell me whether that sort of road construction is covered by the term "road humps"? If not, what are they called and where are they defined? I have not found a definition anywhere in the Bill. As they are used to prevent accidents and to reduce speeds, they should be considered carefully.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
I am as unhappy as are my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) and the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) about the idea of a substantial obstruction more than a few inches high being erected on a public road that has a statutory speed limit of as much as 30 mph. Anyone who goes over such a substantial hump at that speed could cause severe damage to his vehicle, to himself or to other road users. I take the point made by the hon. Member for Tayside, North. When road surfaces are varied the noise that one hears inside the car changes, which is a good way of reducing traffic speed.
As this is the first reference in the Bill to miles per hour, can the Minister say anything about the Government's intentions for the imperial measurement system——

The First Deputy Chairman
Order. If the Minister does, he will be entirely out of order.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
This is a consolidation measure which replaces several statutes that have been in force for a long time, and I presume that the Government intend that this legislation should remain in force for at least a few years. Does that mean that we are saddled with mph? I should not use the word "saddle" because it is pejorative, but we have two systems of measurements going at once for temperatures, weights and distances. We buy materials in metres and distances are quoted in metres or kilometres. Does the clause imply that the mile will be with us for the next half century, together with the kilometre?

§ Mr. David Marshall
I agree with what was said by my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) and for East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson). This clause is yet another attempt to bring Scottish legislation into line with English legislation. Can the Minister tell the Committee what has been the English experience with road humps?
Clause 35(a) says that an authority may construct road humps if (a) the road is subject to a statutory speed limit for motor vehicles of 30 miles per hour or less; or (b) the road humps are authorised. Does that mean that the Minister is considering authorising road humps on roads that have no speed limit? What does clause 35 (b) mean, and will the Minister define a road hump?

§ Mr. Allan Stewart
In reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Shettleston (Mr. Marshall) and to other hon. Members who have raised the point, I should emphasise the fact that 30 mph would be a maximum speed limit. The clause empowers a local authority to construct road humps in a road maintainable by it if the road is subject to a statutory speed limit … of 30 miles per hour or less. 371 The hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) and other hon. Members said that one would normally expect a hump to be constructed in a road with a speed limit of rather less than 30 mph.

§ Mr. Maxton
My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Shettleston (Mr. Marshall) made a good point, because the word between paragraphs (a) and (b) is not "and" but "or". That implies two different conditions, not two linked conditions. Clauses 36, 37 and 38 lay down the way in which road humps will be authorised. Why is paragraph (b) in the Bill at all unless it is a condition different from that in paragraph (a)?

§ Mr. Stewart
I shall return to that point when we consider later clauses. As the hon. Gentleman said, the authorisation is also contained in clause 39.
Humps are mainly intended for urban areas where the speed limit is likely to be 30 mph. The hon. Member for Shettleston asked me about the English experience, but he will know that the hump regulations were introduced only in August 1983, so it is too early to say what the results of that experience have been. As to timing, the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mr. Craigen) has tabled an amendment relating to the introduction of the provisions in Scotland.
In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker), the different textures in the road surface to which he referred are termed rumble strips and are used to warn traffic of hazards ahead. They are not road humps as defined in the clause.