Road Transport Topics
Page 51
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In Parliament
STATE CONTROL OF TRUNK ROADS.
THE Forth and Tay road-bridge projects, traffic estimates for which are being awaited by the Minister of Transport, are not to be included in the Government's control of 4,500 miles of trunk roads.
Details of the scheme of transfer are not to 'be made available until the Minister introduces his Bill to make the necessary provisions, but the Government is not prepared to receive any representation for enlarging the schedule of roads or altering the main principles of the scheme.
LACK OF UNIFORMITY IN ADMINISTRATION OF LAW.
THE attention of the Home Secretary was again called to the lack of uniformity, throughout the country, in the administration of the law regarding prosecutions for motoring
offences. It was pointed out that during the past year there were in Bacup 99 convictions for motoring
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
offences, and in no case was a licence suspended or endorsed, whilst in Wigan, for 754 convictions, 612 licences were suspended or endorsed.
It was suggested to the Home Secretary that he might circularize magistrates, explaining to them the meaning of section 5(1) of the Road Traffic Act, 1934, so as to secure uniformity in administration of the law.
Sir John Simon announced that he had issued a circular on the subject to all magistrates.
FEW TRAILER ACCIDENTS.
ASKED in what percentage of the road accidents in 1935, vehicles drawing trailers were involved, Mr. Hore-Belisha stated that 8,730 vehicles were involved in fatal accidents, and of these, 152, or 1.74 per cent., were drawing trailers. He added that the
investigation, now being conducted into the circumstances of road accidents involving personal injury, would include details of the ages of all .drivers involved in such accidents.
NUMBERS OF VEHICLES USING VARIOUS FUELS.
)k RETURN of the vehicles running rt on petrol, oil, electricity, coal-gas, or pulverized fuel, in the British Isles, in the past four years, has been prepared by the Ministry of Transport, in answer to a question by a Mineworkers' Trade Union M.P.
The information relates to goods and passenger vehicles, and the figures apply to vehicles for which licences were current at any time during the quarter ended September 30.
In regard to goods vehicles the details are .as follow :
Petrol: 1932, 362,646; 1933, 380.010; 1934, 404,710; 1935, 425,276, Steam: 1932, 5,849; 1933, 5,100; 1934, 2,735; 1935. 2,113. Electricity: 1932, 1,325; 1933. 1,303; 1934, 1,548; 1935, 1,891. Other fuels (oil, etc.): 1932, 280; 1933, 1,074; 1934, 4,317 (including 10 using coal-gas): 1935, 5,429 (including 14 using coal-gas). The total numbers of goody vehicles for the four years, respectively, are 370,100, 387,487, 415,321 and 434,723.
The figures available for passenger vehicles are
Petrol: 1934, 81,729; 1935, 78,830. Other fuels (oil, etc.): 1934, 2,397; 1935, 5,541. Electricity: 1934, 1,002; 1935, 1.176. Tho totals are: 1932, 84,950; 1933, 85,077; 1934, 85,12,9; 1935, 85,547.