HC Deb 12 April 1911 vol 24 c607W
Mr. WATT

asked the Lord Advocate whether his attention has been called to the Return of street accidents caused by vehicles in Scotland (in continuation of Parliamentary Paper, No. 209, of Session 1910) issued by the Home Office on 23rd March; if so, is he aware that the figures there given show that the city of Glasgow has a much greater proportion of accidents than its population would account for; is he aware that Glasgow has no speed limit for motor-cars, but permits these vehicles to travel at the statutory twenty miles per hour; and will he, in view of the fact that the corporation owns tramway cars, take the initiative in bringing about a reduction of motor-car speeds?

Mr. LIRE

The following figures have been compiled with the aid of the Return in question:—

Population (Estimated at middle of 1909. Number of Accidents. Total. No. of Accidents to every 100,000 of Population. Total.
Horse-drawn Vehicles Mechanically Propelled Vehicles Horse-drawn Vehicles Mechanically Propelled Vehicles.
Whole of Scotland 4,877,648 1,258 1,490 2,748 25.8 30.5 56.3
Glasgow 872,021 355 373 728 40.7 42.7 83.4
Manchester 655,435 391 543 934 59.7 82.8 142.5
Liverpool 760,357 629 806 1,435 82.7 106.0 188.7
Birmingham 563,629 483 314 797 85.7 55.7 141.4

It does not appear to me that these figures suggest the necessity for special regulation in Glasgow over and above the provisions of Section 1 of the Motor Car Act, 1903, against reckless driving which must, of course, be taken into account along with the general restrictions to twenty miles per hour, and I am not prepared to take the initiative as suggested by my hon. Friend.