No to speed limiters
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• The Government has rejected a new call for lorry speed limiters — but will consider special "slow down" signs on Britain's motorways.
In the House of Lords last week, Labour Peer Lord Stoddart of Swindon demanded emergency measures to curb truck speeds and said: "I hope the Government will review this matter very quickly and impose speed limiters on HGVs using the motorways."
He claimed the speed of lorries had increased alarmingly over the past few years and warned: "Not only do they constitute a danger by the accidents they have, but they are also pushing up speed generally as other traffic strives to pass the convoy of lorries hogging our motorways."
Junior Transport Minister Lord Brabazon of Tara said the Government had no plans to introduce compulsory speed limiters, but promised to keep the situation under review. He pointed out that the number of HGVs exceeding speed limits on motorways fell from 39% in 1983 to 22% in 1987. "That's an improvement and it's not good enough, which is why we announced earlier this year our plans to amend the law to allow the use of cameras to detect speeding offences," he added.
Lord Brabazon told the peers that the involvement of goods vehicles in accidents had halved over the past 15 years — "which is an improvement far better than that of any other form of road transpo he said, praising the Freigl Transport Association and Road Haulage Association I encouraging drivers to kee the limit and for the No Ni to Speed campaign.
Lord Stoddart claimed if number of convictions for speeding by heavy lorries 1 gone down because the pol are concerned about the da ger of lorries parked on th( hard shoulder: "Lorries arc allowed to get away with speeding when perhaps the ought not to be," he said, called for messages on brid or signposts reminding driv to use the inside lane excel when overtaking.
Speaking for the Government, Earl Ferrers said thc was nothing more infuriatin, than finding people hogging either the middle or outsick lane of roads and said he w look into Lord Stoddart's appeal for special notices.