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Road Transport
Page 78
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Topics
In Parliament
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
CONSENTS FOR CORONATION SERVICES.'
REFERENCE was again made in the House of -Commons to the recent decision of London Transport to • grant consents for motor-coach proprietors to operate tours of the decorations and illuminations during May, only on condition that a fare of 5s. per person was charged.
Mr. W. H_ Green pointed out that coach proprietors were prepared to run such tours at 2s. 6d. per head and that the fixing of 5s. would preclude many Londoners of limited means from participating in such tours; therefore, the Minister of Transport should ask London Transport to reconsider its decision in this matter.
Mr. Hbre-Belisha said this was a problem which affected not the Board. alone, but street capacity, police control, safety and larger issues, all of which would be taken into account. Incidentally, the London Passenger Transport Act, 1933, placed an obligation on the Board to provide adequate servic-.
95 MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES.
THE Home Secretary, Sir John Simon, stated that the number of cases in 1936 -in which a motor-traffic fatality had resulted in a committal for trial for manslaughter was 95. In six of these cases the result of the trial was not yet known In 20 cases there was a conviction for manslaughter and in 19 of these a sentence of imprisonment was imposed.
WESTWAY DEMONSTRATIONS— NO PROSECUTIONS.
. WITH reference to the, pedestrian dertionstration held in Westway, Hammersmith, on January 31, .CornMander Bower asked the Home Secretary whether any obstruction to the traffic had been caused; whether. any
• tesultant acCidents were i'eborted, and c28 whether any prosecution of motorists, pedestrians or the organizers of the demonstration were contemplated.
Sir J. Simon said he was informed that the traffic had been somewhat impeded, but that no serious obstruction had been caused. No accidents had been reported and no proceedings were contemplated.
Commander Bower asked if the Home Secretary were aware that a number of motorists had been threatened, on this occasion, by pedestrians in the neighbourhood. Could he say what. gave rise to this indignation when; according to statistics published, Westway had been remarkably free from accidents. Sir J. Simon was unable to answer that question.
MORE BUILT-UP-AREA LIMITS.
THE Minister of Transport assured Mr. Montague that, according to the inter-departmental Committee on Road Safety for Children, accidents were generally less serious in areas where speeds were limited, and that on the outskirts. of towns, where speed was higher, there were more fatal accidents. He would consider the enforcing . of a proper speed limit, in every case where circumstances rendered it desirable, on roads Coining under his jurisdiction, irrespective' of whether a stretch was technically described as ".nrban 7 or otherwise.
FEW TOLL AND BRIDGE GRANTS: MINISTER'S POLICY.
TT was suggested that,in connection 1 with Government grants to local authorities, the Minister of Health might be able to arrange future grants so as to discourage local authorities from wishing to maintain sources of revenue, from toll bridges and roads, contrary to the interests of the public.
Sir Kingsley Wood said that the receipts of local authorities, from toll 'bridges and roads, were not matters of which specific account fell to be taken in the statutory investigations of the block grant under the Local Government Act, 1929, at present proceeding. He understood, however, that it was the policy of the Minister of Transport to encourage authorities to abolish tolls.
The slow pace at which level crossings are being replaced by bridges is shown by figures relating to the past year. In this period grants have been made or promised for the construction of bridges to avoid six level crossings, and for freeing five toll bridges, whilst a further bridge is being reconstructed, with assistance from the Road Fund, on condition that tolls will be abolished.
THIRD-PARTY INSURANCE COMPLAINTS, THE President of the Board of Trade . was questioned .by Sir P. Hurd as to whether the provisions of thirdparty-compensation clauses in the 1934 Act continued to prove inadequate to protect interested injured persons, and when the committee which had 'been considering the matter, would report.
Dr. Burgin, Parliamentary Secretary, said that although the position lad improved since the coming into operation of the Act, there were still occasional complaints with regardto the working of the provisions referred to. The committee was now considering its report, but he.was not yet in.a position to say when .it would be presented...