1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160 
A Condemnation of the General Speed Limit
Page 111
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
BEFORE the House of Commons. approached the report and thirdreading stages of the Road Traffic Bill, the Motor Legislation Committee circularised Members of Parliament regarding Clause 1, which imposes a general maximum speed limit of 30 m.p.h. in built-up areas between 5 a.m. and 12 midnight. The Committee states its belief that the restrictions will entirely fail to achieve the end in view, that the experiment is a profound mistake, and that it will nullify much of the useful road safety work now in progress.
All persons who have made a close study of the problem are agreed that the best solution is the raising of the standard of conduct of all road users. The foundation of road safety is a cordial co-operation amongst all, with a resort to prosecution and punishment in only those cases where there is proof of dangerous behaviour. In short, the best course is to ensure that all road users understand and instinctively observe the Highway Code.
The fixing of a 30-m.p.h. limit is not justified by experience and there is no fixed rate of speed which will be a safe speed on any road under all conditions. The attempt to define by reference to street lamps a built-up area will cause difficulty and confusion, whilst the enforcement of the speed limit will seriously prejudice the general movement for making the roads safer.
There is nothing more certain to arouse feelings of annoyance and resentment than the arbitrary enforcement of restrictions which experience has shown to be unnecessary. The methods in contemplation appear to be speed trapping by the police or speedometer readings by mobile police, and in the opinion of the Committee a return to the bad old days of the speed trap seems to be inevitable without conferring any benefit from a road-safety point of view.