HC Deb 03 February 1969 vol 777 cc13-4W
Mr. Dudley Smith

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that there is an increase in fatal and serious accidents on the M1 motorway between 5 p.m. on Fridays and 11 p.m. on Sundays, as compared with the rest of the week; and if he will take steps to counter this trend.

Mr. Marsh

The following are the figures of fatal and serious casualties in accidents on the M1 during the first eleven months of 1968, with comparable figures for 1967.

1967 1968
5 p.m. Friday-11p.m. Sunday 130 189
All other hours 176 219
TOTAL 306 408

The figures for the two years are not comparable since the mileage of the M1 in use increased from 126 at 1st January, 1967, to 194 at 30th November, 1968. The figures do not take account of changes in traffic volumes, so it does not necessarily follow that the accident rate per vehicle mile is higher at weekends than at other times.