§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will seek to reduce the maximum permissible speed limit for road passenger service vehicles to 50 mph;
(2) if he will introduce legislation to ban coaches from the outside third lane of three-lane motorways;
(3) whether he is now proposing any new measures to seek to reduce coach accidents, and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI recognise the concerns reflected in my hon. Friend's questions. As I assured the House on 22 October, I am looking very carefully at every aspect of the speed and safety of coaches on motorways. I must consider all the evidence before making final decisions.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now seek to establish a system for monitoring coach crashes in separate accident statistics.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe existing reporting system, Stats 19, already identifies those accidents involving buses or coaches, and these statistics are published in "Road Accidents Great Britain."
It is, however, difficult for reporting officers to make a distinction between bus and coach involvements, although in most motorway accidents the statistics will refer to coaches.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce measures to make all double-decked coaches subject to the same laws as double-decked buses.
§ Mrs. ChalkerNo distinction is drawn between double-decked coaches and double-decked buses in the application of construction and safety requirements.