§ 2.45 p.m.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the number of casualties on the roads caused by rash overtaking, they will now consider imposing fixed speed limits for the various lanes on motorways, as is done in the United States.]
§ LORD LINDGRENMy Lords, in some States of the United States of America, I understand, heavy vehicles are confined to slow lanes. We do not, however, consider that different speed limits for each lane of a motorway would be effective against dangerous overtaking.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord one simple question? Over the Easter Holidays I was driving, scared stiff, at 90 m.p.h. in the right-hand lane. Some beast coming up behind me, who must have been going at 110 m.p.h., tried to blow me off the road. The choice that confronted me was slowing down and being killed by him or swivelling over to the middle lane at 90 m.p.h. when the middle lane was being used by traffic going at 45 m.p.h. Which form of death would he choose?
§ LORD LINDGRENGoing at less than 90 miles an hour.
§ LORD SOMERSMy Lords, would not the noble Lord agree that the solution is not by any means to fix speed limits for individual lanes but to train drivers not to switch from lane to lane, which is the one thing we in this country have never learned?
§ LORD LINDGRENMy Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord that lane discipline in this country is not as good as it ought to be, and it is one of the disciplines the motorist has to apply to himself. This applies not only to the car driver but also to the lorry driver.