HL Deb 22 May 1969 vol 302 cc518-21

5.57 p.m.

LORD SOMERS rose to ask Her Majesty's Government: Whether they would consider reintroducing the "Stop" sign for motorists, which was discarded not long ago. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I must apologise for asking this Question just before your Lordships rise for the Recess, but I can promise that I will not keep you long. I should like to start by removing what I think may be a slight misunderstanding, due to my wording of the Question. I am not referring to the road sign, the "Halt" sign; I am referring to the driver's sign which, your Lordships will remember, was a hand held upright, indicating "I am about to stop". For some reason or other that has been discarded. As your Lordships will see on page 34 of the new Highway Code, the flashing of the deft trafficator takes its place as meaning, "I intend to move into the left, turn left or stop on the left". That is a good deal for one signal to mean, and I can show why it can cause danger.

I was told by my friend, the Director of Tests at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, of an experience he had only a few days ago. He was driving down the Chiswick High Road towards the headquarters of the Institute. It was during the rush hour, when traffic was fairly thick, and a car gave this signal—the flashing of the left-hand trafficator—just before approaching a left-hand turn. It was not unnatural for my friend to think that the driver of the car intended to turn down that turning. Not a bit of it. The car pulled up; the door opened and a man got out. The whole of that stream of traffic was held absolutely solid for some way back—because, of course, the traffic was too thick for vehicles to move out into the other stream which was already full. So there he remained for some considerable time, he, of course, being too conscientious a driver to try to force his way out into the second stream. But unfortunately that is not the case with everybody, and they might attempt to do so, with very serious consequences. I therefore hold that there should be some "Stop" sign quite distinct from the turning left or the moving left sign. I do not know why the old hand signal was discarded—whether it was because it bore an unfortunate resemblance to the Nazi salute; but at any rate it was.

My noble friend Lord Teynham, when I was discussing this subject with him to-day (I am sorry he is not here to bear this out), said that hand signals are never used now; that no driver wants to open his window, particularly in cold weather. That, I admit, is so. On the other hand, I should have thought that with this stop signal he would not mind so much, because in any case he is going to open the door and get out into the cold himself. Therefore, I should have thought it would not be such a great sacrifice for a driver to lower his window and give a stop sign.

Incidentally, although my friend the Director of Tests of the Institute of Advanced Motorists does not agree with this, I have often felt that it might be possible to devise some form of mechanical or electrical signal which would mean stop. I have sometimes thought that three red lights in a vertical row could be used to give that same signal. One could think of many ways of doing it. But I still think that the old sign, of just holding one's hand up out of the window, was a far more effective one than anything one might devise. I should like to ask why it has been discarded and whether the Ministry of Transport would possibly consider its reintroduction.

6.3 p.m.

THE PARLIAMENARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE, R.A.F. (LORD WINTER-BOTTOM)

My Lords, the noble Lord. Lord Somers, has apologised for a certain lack of clarity in his Question. I must say that I misunderstood it, and I came down fully briefed to answer quite a different problem. For this reason perhaps he will forgive me if my Answer to-day is little more than a promise to convey his views to my right honourable friend and to get his reply to the point that the noble Lord has made.

LORD SOMERS

My Lords, I apologise to the noble Lord. I should have let him know.

LORD WINTERBOTTOM

My Lords, the noble Lord need not apologise. I tried to get in touch with him, but for some reason we missed each other. I must stay that I personally have substantial sympathy with the noble Lord's point. One does not know whether the driver in front of one is turning left or is proposing to stop. Having been brought up in the old-fashioned way, I personally still give a hand sign. It seems to me that the point the noble Lord has made is valid, and I think that it should be considered. I have understood exactly the point he is trying to make, and I undertake to bring it to the notice of my right honourable friend the Minister of Transport, and to write to the noble Lord in reply. I am afraid that, having guessed wrong as to the Question he was asking, this spendid brief I was given is entirely irrelevant; but, as I have said, I will provide the noble Lord with a written reply.