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Road Transport Matters in Parliament.

30th June 1925, Page 8
30th June 1925
Page 8
Page 8, 30th June 1925 — Road Transport Matters in Parliament.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

PARLIAMENT has recently shown some curiosity as to 1 the intentions of the Government with regard to forthcoming legislation on roads and transport, but there is no prospect of an immediate announcement of policy. In the words of Lord Montagu, the law is in a chaotic state, and this being so it will exercise the wits and ingenuity of both the Home Office and the Ministry of Transport to find a satisfactory method of escape from the existing confusion. Recent attempts on the part of unofficial legislators to suggest ameliorative measures have been few and singularly unhelpful. They have been almost confined to the discussion of the excessive speed of heavy vehicles and the damage caused to road surfaces. The solitary specific offered as a cure for both evils is the posting of police on the roadways throughout the country for the purpose of pouncing on drivers who exceed the limit. By way of a rider to this sagacious remedy it has been seriously suggested that the Home Office should circularize magistrates to the effect that it is advisable in the interests of the public as well as the roads that one uniform heiesy fine should be imposed on the driver.

Are Police Traps Effective Measures of Control ?

Apart from the significant concentration of opinion on the delinquencies of the heavy vehicle driver, -who from the recent debate in the House of Lords might almost be regarded as the sole user of the roads, one is tempted to ask whether the multiplication of police traps is the only measure to which the unofficial legislative imagination can stretch when

• viewing a great and permanent revolution in road transport. It is certain thak the Government will not confine its forthcoming legislation to such crude and selective methods of control—which, indeed, it is almost impossible to carry out uniformly or consistently, for . the reason given by Lord Desborough, that ten times the existing force of police would be insufficient for the purpose.

Little. need be said about the circular to magistrates. It is a procedure that the Home Office would be exceedingly chary of adopting even in extreme circumstances and in any case magistrates would rightly resent interference with their proper discretion and judgment. Meanwhile the Government's advice to all who want something done is that they must await the disclosure of the provisions of its Bill.

There is evidence that -the Government is piling up the 024 materials from which some well-thought-out policy may be constructed. The interim report of the Departmental Committee on Public Service ,Vehicles deals with one very important group of problems but there are many other matters On which the Transport Ministry and the Home Office are accumulating information. For instance, the latter department is compiling a return showing the number of prosecutions and convictions of driver a of public vehicles, heavy motorcars, light motorcars and motorcycles in the first three months of this year for exceeding the speed limit in the Metropolitan Police District and in the outlying parts of the county of Surrey. If, as is probable, the different districts are to be given separately, the return should provide some extremely interesting comparisons and it may incidentally explain the exasperation -of road users -with the differing degrees of official zeal in checking, or at least detecting, cases Of excessive speed.

The Problem of Cross-road Traffic.

Another point which the Minister • of • Transport is having considered once again is the possibility of .dealing by legislation with the problem of cross-road traffic. Captain Brass, the Unionist member for Clitheroe, who has reeently been an active interrogator of the Government on motoring questions, drew attention to the increase in fatal motoring accidents at cross-roads, and the fact that users of side roads have equal rights with users of main roads. He suggested the advisability of legislatively._ defining main 'roads and placing the onus of responsibility for accidente on the drivers of vehicles emerging from the smaller roads on to the larger ones. Col. Ashley admitted the occurrence of fatal accidents and mentioned that the suggestion had been considered from time to time, but there were serious difficulties in the way, including the tendency there would be towards the encouragement of high speed on the part of vehicles travelling on the main roads. While not convinced that the plan would necessarily reduce the number of accidents, he had the matter again under consideration in connection with the proposed He pointed out that the Bill, for the improvement of roads, now awaiting the report stage, contained provisions for the improvement of blind corners. Capt. Brass emphasized his proposal by observing that the law was in operation in the United States, but the obvious reply 'was that what suits one country may not suit another.


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