§ Lord Burnhamasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many road accidents have occurred on the A.40 between the Target roundabout and Hanger Lane since the reduction of the speed limit in 1998; 31WA and in how many of these accidents speed was a contributory factor. [HL2033]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency to write to the noble Lord.
Letter to Lord Burnham from the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. L. Haynes, dated 27 April 1999.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your recent question about the latest figure for road accidents on the A.40 between Target Roundabout and Hanger Lane.
In the nine months following the reduction of the speed limits, there were 31 personal injury accidents on this part of the A.40 and in 17 of these speed was deemed to be a contributory factor. This compares with 48 accidents in the equivalent 9-month period in 1997 of which 23 were speed related.
Although the figures are encouraging, it is too early to draw firm conclusions from the comparisons. Usually, accident data for the three years prior to and following any new measures being introduced is required before robust conclusions on their effectiveness can be made.