Mr. G. Wilsonasked the Minister of Transport whether he is yet able to give the results of the 50 miles-per-hour speed limit experiment conducted on lengths of trunk road during certain weekends last summer: and whether he has any proposals for the future use of the 50-miles-per-hour limit.
§ Mr. MarplesYes. On those lengths of road which were subjected to the 50 m.p.h. speed limit there was a reduction of 15 per cent. in the number of accidents involving personal injury as compared with corresponding week-ends in 1959. On a group of comparable roads where no speed limit was in operation there was a rise of 3 per cent. over the 1959 figure. These figures are encouraging but in view of the limited nature of the experiment the results must be treated with reserve. However, I am satisfied that they justify repeating the experiment next year.