ROAD TRANSPORT LIGHTING (CYCLES) BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 19 December 1944)

§ THE MINISTER OF WAR TRANSPORT (LORD LEATHERS)

My Lords, the purpose of this short Bill, to which I am asking your Lordships to give a Second Reading, is to promote safety on the roads. Prior to the war, pedal cycles—which I propose to use as a convenient term to cover what the Bill calls "bicycles and tricycles not propelled by mechanical power"—had to carry either a red rear light or, alternatively, a red reflector and white surface. During the war, owing to the absence of street lighting and the restriction of vehicle lighting, cyclists have been required to carry red rear lights by Orders made by the Minister of Home Security under Regulation 24 of the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939. The Order at present in force is the Lighting (Restrictions) Order, 1944.

Just before the war a Select Committee of this House, under the Chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Airless, recommended that during the hours of darkness cyclists should be required to carry a red rear lamp and also a red reflector and white surface. Consideration of this and the many other recommendations of that Select Committee was interrupted by the war, but I have come to the conclusion, for reasons which I shall explain to your Lordships, that the time is now opportune to implement this particular recommendation. Before making their recommendation the Alness Committee heard and considered evidence on this question from a wide range of witnesses, including representatives of the cyclists organizations, and I would ask your Lordships to bear with me whilst I read you the Committee's conclusion in their own words: The Committee consider that during the hours of darkness a red lamp should be carried by cyclists, in addition to the red reflector on a white patch which is already compulsory. The representatives of cyclists opposed this proposal, but the Committee were not impressed by their arguments. They seemed largely to rely on the mechanical difficulty of keeping the lamp alight, and yet they mentioned seven countries in which rear lights are today compulsory. They also urged that the result of the motorist depending on cycles having rear lamps would be that the motorist would increase his speed. They failed to convince the Committee of this. In addition, they stated that it is the duty of the driver 370 of an overtaking vehicle to drive within the limits of the lights which he employs. The Committee agree with this counsel of perfection, but, if it is not attained, the problem of avoiding a collision remains unsolved. The Committee are reinforced in their recommendation by the belief that, if cyclists are obliged to carry rear red lamps, the strain of driving at night, with its attendant risks, would be considerably lessened. There is now sitting under the Chairmanship of the Parliamentary Secretary to my Ministry a Committee on Road Safety. I expect their report to be in my hands in two or three weeks, but on this point the Committee have informed me that, with one dissentient, they support the recommendation of the Alness Committee. That one exception is the deputy secretary of one of the cyclists' organizations, who sits on the Committee as one of the representatives of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The Committee state that in their view experience indicates quite clearly that the reflector and white patch do not give the pedal cyclists the necessary degree of protection during the hours of darkness. The views of these two Committees are amply supported by the statistics contained in the reports on road accidents published by my Department. I do not propose to weary your Lordships with figures, because the problem is one which is within the knowledge and common experience of us all. I have no hesitation in suggesting that the vast majority of all road users, whether in motor vehicles, on pedal cycles or on foot, accept and agree with the conclusions of these two Committees.

Five years' experience of the war-time obligation on pedal cyclists to carry rear lights goes to show that there is now little in the contention—which formerly had some substance—that rear lamps are unreliable and that it is difficult to keep them alight. The position in this respect is very different now from what it was in 1927 and 1934, when previous legislation on this subject was before Parliament; it has improved even since the Alness Committee made their recommendations early in 1939.

I now turn to the cyclists' other submission, that it should not be their responsibility to indicate their presence on the road to overtaking traffic (except by red reflectors and white surfaces) and that it is the duty of the motorist to avoid any risk of collision by driving at speeds 371 well within the limits of his lights. I have no thought or desire to minimize the motorist's duty under the Highway Code, to drive at speeds well within the limits of his vision, but I would suggest to those who use this as an argument against the obligatory rear light that it is better to be safe than sorry, and that it is no comfort to the cyclist who has been injured, or to his relatives if he should unfortunately be killed, to be able to say that it was the other man's fault. It is surely better that cyclists should take this additional precaution for their safety, however strongly some of them may feel that in theory it should not be necessary.

It is on these grounds that I have come to the conclusion that the views of the two Committees should be acted upon, and have introduced the Bill which is now before your Lordships. Clause 1 of the Bill makes compulsory the carrying of red rear lights on pedal cycles by repealing those provisions of the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1927, and the Road Traffic Act, 1934, which relieve the cyclist of the obligation to carry a red rear light if he carries instead a red reflector and white surface. The provisions of this clause will come into effect if and when the Bill becomes law. It is my sincere hope that this may come about without delay, so that there may be no possibility of a break in the continuity of this requirement when the present war-time provision lapses. It would be most unfortunate if there were to be any hiatus before Parliament has decided what the permanent position is to be.

Clause 2 of the Bill provides for the carriage (in addition to the red rear light) of a red reflector and white surface. This also is in accordance with the recommendation of the Alness Committee and of the present Committee on Road Safety. It may be contended that the compulsory rear light should render a reflector and white surface unnecessary and that the treble precaution is unduly onerous. Despite the improved efficiency of red rear lights, there is always the possibility that they may go out or become obscured without the cyclist being aware of that fact. In such an event, the red reflector and white surface will give some protection. In my view we should be well advised to adopt the recommendation of the two Committees on this point.

372 The clause provides that the red reflector and white surface are to comply with regulations made by the Minister. Regulations as to the nature and position of red reflectors and white surfaces are already included in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations, 1936, and I do not think it is likely that those requirements will be altered, but the Regulations will have to be remade in rather different form because these fittings will become compulsory in addition to and not as an alternative to the red rear light. Under the provisions of Section 12 of the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1927, the regulations will have to be laid before both Houses. Your Lordships will notice that the obligation to carry reflectors and white surfaces will not come into operation until a day to be appointed by the Minister. The reason for this is that many cycles have been made during the war without these fittings and time must be given for supplies to become available.

Clause 3 of the Bill provides that until a day to be appointed by the Minister no light need be shown if the cycle is stationary owing to the exigencies of traffic or so as to comply with any traffic signal or direction, provided the cycle is as near as possible to the left-hand edge of the carriageway. With dynamo-operated lighting sets, the dynamo does not function when the cycle is stationary, and an auxiliary battery is necessary to maintain the lights. Many dynamo sets, especially those made during the war, are not so fitted, and the purpose of this temporary relaxation is to continue the present wartime provision until the cyclists can make the necessary modifications. It is my intention to do what I can to ensure that the fittings are made available as quickly as possible. On this point I might mention that the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1927, allows a cycle to be wheeled along the left-hand edge of the carriageway without lights. There is no intention of interfering with this exemption which covers the case of a cyclist whose lights fail or who is unexpectedly caught out after dark without lamps.

In the confident hope that the proposals in the Bill will result in greater safety for cyclists and in the belief that they will be accepted and indeed welcomed by many cyclists as well as other users of the road, I recommend them to your Lordships and ask you to 373 accord the Bill a Second Reading. I beg to move.