§ Mr. Ellis Smithasked the Minister of Transport why he decided that the first motorway warning system in this country should be installed on 26 miles of the M.5 Bristol-Birmingham motorway; on what dates he received representations from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South that it should be introduced on the Stretford-Eccles-Worsley portion of the M.6; by what factors involving road safety he is guided in deciding on what motorways a warning system should be introduced; on what date and where the system will first be introduced; and on what date it will be introduced on the M.6.
§ Mr. MarplesIt was decided to use M.5 for the experiment with the motorway warning system because spare circuits were available in the emergency telephone cable system of M.5 and were not available on M.1. It was also an advantage that the whole of the length of M.5 came within the jurisdiction of one police force.
The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ellis Smith) asked a Question on 9th May, 1962, about the need for an experimental warning system on the Stretford-Eccles motorway. The experiment on M.5 should start in September, but until the results have been assessed I cannot say what the criteria should be for any extension of the system to other motorways or when it could take place.