HC Deb 30 March 1999 vol 328 c586W
Dr. Marek

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will introduce regulations to limit Heavy Goods Vehicles to the inside lane on busy commuter motorways. [78960]

Ms Glenda Jackson

Goods vehicles with a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes are already banned from the outside lane of motorways with three or more lanes. We do not believe that a further restriction to the inner lane is justified for road safety reasons. It would cause a queue to form in the inner lane, moving at the speed of the slowest. Journey times are often a significant factor for hauliers, and drivers might be tempted to divert from motorways to less suitable roads through towns where accident rates are higher and there are more vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.