§ Mr. James Whiteasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any figures available relating to the average speed of vehicles, both commercial and private, travelling on the A74 towards Glasgow.
§ Mr. William RossSpeeds vary according to road conditions and gradients; but observations early in 1975 on a stretch of A74 with a slight rising gradient to the north and a corresponding fall to the south showed average speeds of private cars of 56 mph and 61 mph for northbound and southbound vehicles respectively, and for heavy goods vehicles 46 mph and 49 mph respectively. About 91 per cent. of the heavy goods vehicles and about 38 per cent. of the private cars observed were exceeding the appropriate speed limits. Recent police observation suggests that average speeds are now rather lower.