M-way limits 'lot of rubbish'
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• When the Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers met in London on Wednesday the proposed new limits announced by the Minister of Transport last week were strongly criticized. It was suggested by one member that they were ''a lot of rubbish". It was unrealistic to expect any improvement in accident prevention by dropping the h.g.v. limits on motorways from 70 to 60 mph, he added.
Mr. G. Carruthers, Advanced Linen Company, said that if the new legislation was based on the reduction of accidents which followed the 70 mph limit then the Minister was starting from a false .premise. When the limit was introduced so also was the thirdlane restriction for commercial vehicles; how
could the Minister claim that the reduced accidents rate was due solely to a speed restriction?
Driver training, it was generally agreed, was the only effective way to reduce accidents although this was a long-term solution.
It was revealed at the meeting that Al RSO had received an MoT report listing over 1,500 bridges in England and Wales as substandard; of these only 400 carried any restrictions.
Mr. A. E. Tear, secretary, advised members sending heavy vehicles over a route where there was any doubt about bridge capacity to contact the Ministry.