40 m.p.h.—But Only Just As Commons Discuss Speeds
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Front our Parliamentary Correspondent
THE Regulations increasing the speed of buses and coaches were approved by Parliament last week, in the face of determined opposition from both Peers and M.P.s—including an attempt to "count out" the Commons which, if it had succeeded, would have stopped consideration of the matter until the Government could find a spot in its small amount of remaining time to bring it up again.
Main criticism the Government had to face was th-at the new higher speed limit • would mean more danger on the road. Mr. R. J. Mellish (Bermondsey), one of the Opposition's Front Bench spokesmen on transport, claimed that the trade IN-lions were bitterly opposed to the Regulations. They felt that raising the speed limit would increase the risk of accidents.
50 Soon?
"We are not convinced that the present speed limit of 30 miles an hour should be raised merely because it is broken in many cases," he went on. "If the limit is raised to 40 miles an hour we shall soon be faced with the argument that that limit is being broken and should be -raised to 50 miles an hour."
Noting that the higher speed limit applied only to areas which were not built up, Mr. Mellish said this definition had changed considerably in the last few years, and there were now greater areas in which buses and coaches could travel at this speed. They would be able to travel at 40 miles an hour virtually anywhere.
" Another aspect which should be considered by the Ministry is that immediately the Government start altering speed limits those who own buses and coaches—some of them being private
owners, some of them being nationalized undertakings—will understandably alter their schedules.
"'This will cause a great deal of friction, difficulty and argument'. warned Mr. Mellish.
"Then, of course, in 12 months time the Minister will say that passenger vehicles arc proceeding on the roads at 40 m.p.h., while heavy commercial vehicles are restricted to 30 m.p.h. " We cannot haVe these different speeds' the Minister will say, and he will ask for the speed of commercial vehicles to be increased to 40 m.p.h. That is almost bound to come if we pass these regulations," he said.
Mr. Graham Page (Cons., Crosby) spoke of "the scandal of the nonenforcement of the existing speed limits," and forecast that if the speed of buses was increased to 40 m.p.h. it would mean, generally, speeds of up to 50 m.p.h. and over for those vehicles.
Support for the change came from Mr. John Hall (Cons., Wycombe).
NO COMPULSORY BUMPERS YET NfiR. MARPLES is not yet satisfied that ou side and rear bumpers should be compulsory on heavy goods vehicles:
As things stood at present the Minister did not think that this move would be acceptable in the interests of road safety, said Lord Chesham, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, this week. He did promise, however, that the department would continue to consider the idea.
He was replying in the Lords to Lord Airedale, who had asked whether the Government a'greed, in the light of the report of the Road Injuries Research Group, that these bumpers should be compulsory on heavy vehicles having a high ground clearance.