No Week-end Ban on Goods Traffic
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From Our Parliamentary Correspondent
THERE is to be no restriction—except I a voluntary one—on the number of commercial vehicles using the highways during the -summer week-ends. The Minister of Transport made this plain when he was asked in, the Commons last week if he -would impose the "no travel on summer Sundays" ban on heavy goods vehicles.'
This total prohibition would have a serious effect on supplies, said the Minister, though he appealed to hauliers to limit traffic on summer week-ends.
The movement of heavy goods vehicles was much less on Sundays than on other days, pointed out Mr. Marples. From Monday to Friday they averaged 20m. vehicle miles, on Saturdays 9m. and on Sundays 3m.—" so I think we are dealing with the week-end traffic pretty• -well."
Mr. Philip Hocking (Cons., Coventry South), who had asked for the prohibition, suggested that it should apply between 8' a.m. and 8 p.m. during the period of British Summer Time.
The ban worked perfectly well in Western Europe, particularly in Western Germany and Holland, said Mr. Hocking, and would relieve congestion on the roads here. He urged the Minister to have another look at it.