§ LORD RATHCREEDAN rose to ask His Majesty's Government whether, seeing that considerable time must necessarily elapse before the provisions of the promised measure dealing with roads come into operation, they will consider 1497 the advisability of taking some step to diminish the damage now sustained by owners and occupiers of house property in close proximity to roads used by heavy vehicles, more especially those roads used by omnibuses in the vicinity of the Metropolis. The noble Lord said: My Lords, under the circumstances I do not feel that I am justified in detaining the House, and I will therefore content myself with asking the Question which stands in my name upon the Paper.
§ VISCOUNT PEELMy Lords, I also will deal with this Question as briefly as I can. Generally speaking, the view of the Ministry of Transport is that the remedy lies rather in strengthening and improving the road surfaces, a process which has been pressed forward as rapidly as circumstances permit, than in placing further limitations on the weight and speed of heavy motor vehicles. So far as the Ministry is concerned, little evidence of serious damage to buildings from this cause has been produced, and it is considered that on a properly constructed road in a reasonable state of repair no reasonably sound building would be seriously affected by the traffic. The Minister does not feel, therefore, that any case has been made out on these grounds for reducing the present legal limits of weight and speed for heavy motor vehicles. It may be pointed out that no alteration has been made in the maximum axle weights or speeds of heavy motor cars since 1904, except that the maximum speed of heavy motor cars fitted with resilient tyres with registered axle weights between 6 tons and 8 tons was raised two years ago from eight miles to twelve miles per hour.
So far as the road surfaces are concerned, substantial grants are made from the Road Fund towards the cost of improving the surfaces of roads, to render them suitable for the traffic upon them. Section 7, subsection (4) of the Roads Act, 1920, empowers the Minister of Transport, on the application of the council of a county or a county borough, and after holding a public inquiry, to prohibit or restrict the use of particular classes of mechanically propelled vehicles on roads, in any case in which it appears to him to be proved that a vehicle of that class cannot be used on that highway without endangering the safety of the 1498 vehicle, or the persons therein or other traffic using the highway, or that the highway is unsuitable for use by a vehicle of that class. It will be observed that the factors to be taken into consideration are safety of vehicles and their passengers and the suitability of the road as a road. The Minister is advised that it is very doubtful whether the powers of this section could be invoked merely on the ground that damage to house property by vibration is alleged.
Within the City of London and the Metropolitan Police district omnibuses are allowed, under the provisions of the London Traffic Act, to ply for hire only upon routes which have been approved for such purposes by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, who, of course, is the licensing authority for the area. In considering whether he should include any particular street or road in a route to be defined for this purpose, he may have regard only to the question of public safety and to the convenience of traffic. This power of the Commissioner does, however, ensure that omnibuses are not run upon streets or roads within the City of London or the Metropolitan Police district unless the Commissioner is reasonably satisfied that they are suitable for this traffic. In the legislation which the Minister of Transport hopes shortly to introduce for the better regulation of public service vehicles it is intended to confer upon licensing authorities throughout the country certain powers for controlling, by means of conditions attaching to the licences, the routes of omnibuses and chars-a-banc, subject to suitable safeguards.