HL Deb 26 March 1958 vol 208 cc440-2

2.39 p.m.

VISCOUNT GOSCHEN

My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government the reason for instituting a 40 miles per hour limit on parts of the Great West Road and other trunk roads.]

LORD MANCROFT

My Lords, the 40 m.p.h. speed limit has been imposed on lengths of the Great West Road and other trunk roads because they are roads where some restriction of speed is necessary on safety grounds but where a speed limit of 30 m.p.h. would be unrealistic.

EARL HOWE

My Lords, may I ask what is the real idea of first of all constructing a twin-track road in order to facilitate traffic flow and then promptly putting a speed limit on it?

LORD MANCROFT

My Lords, after careful inquiry, it was decided that this scheme should be given a trial in order to see whether it would improve the flow of traffic. It is an experimental scheme and has been tried so far for only about ten days or a fortnight. I suggest that we give it a little longer trial. So far, the experiment seems to be not unsuccessful.

VISCOUNT GOSCHEN

My Lords, arising out of the reply of the noble Lord, does he not consider that in building the extremely good Cromwell Road extension, which will help to ease traffic out of London more quickly, it seems rather absurd to control it when it gets on to this three-track road at the end?

LORD GIFFORD

My Lords, could I ask the noble Lord whether, if it is necessary to impose a 40 m.p.h. limit on roads at present unrestricted, the Government will give precedence to roads with a single carriage way instead of roads with twin carriage ways where higher speeds can be indulged in with safety?

LORD MANCROFT

My Lords, as I have told the House, this is an experiment and all these matters will be borne in mind when a careful inquiry is instituted on how the experiment has worked.

LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYE

Arising out of the noble Lord's reply may I ask this question? As this is an experiment for a limited time, could the Minister say whether motorists will be taken up by the police during the time of the experiment and, if they are, as they will be victims of an experiment, will any fines be refunded by his Department?

LORD MANCROFT

My Lords, I am sure that the police will exercise common sense, as they always do.

LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTII

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether the House is now to take it that the Government have dispensed with the policy which was originally instituted and which was that the building of by-pass roads and main trunk roads was to do away with speed limits entirely? Are we now to understand that all the bypass and main trunk roads of this country are to have 40 m.p.h. limits dispersed among them?

LORD TEYNHAM

My Lords, arising out of the noble Lord's earlier reply, I was under the impression that when the matter was first considered Her Majesty's Government gave the undertaking that the 40 m.p.h. limit would not be instituted on roads that already had no restrictions whatever but would be confined to the 30 m.p.h. roads. That undertaking has not been carried out.

LORD MANCROFT

My Lords, I am afraid that I have no remembrance of that undertaking. The limit certainly has been applied to roads where there was previously no limit and to roads where there was previously only a 30 m.p.h. limit. The whole of this question brings up this one point: here we are trying to do something, as we have so often tried to do, to speed the flow of traffic, and, as always, there are thirty or so adequate reasons why the Government should do nothing. In this case, the Government propose to do something and they propose to continue with the experiment.