Safety Bill a "Big Job" A SKED in the House
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of Commons, PA last week, when he would introduce legislation to improve road safety, the Minister of Transport, Mr. A. T. Lennox-Boyd, replied: "I regret that I cannot yet say. We are doing our best and are pressing on urgently, but it is a big job."
Meantime, the Minister of Transport is considering tightening the speed-limit regulaticins and making it illegal to park a vehicle within 45 ft. of the approach side of a pedestrian crossing. Local authorities' powers are at present only permissive in this respect.
• The number of vehicle examiners is to be increased, and the Minister has also in mind making it an offence for a pedestrian to cross the road within 100 yd. of a crossing. The drivinglicence regulations may also be reclsssitied, so that the categories of vehicle which may be driven are more closely tn answer to a questiiati about the panel that is examining proposas for a road bridge over the Forth, Mr.
Lennox-Boyd said they were proceeding with the production of a more comprehensive report, which they hoped to present in March.
Mrs. White asked the Minister whether he would take powers to improve the upkeep of roads passing over railway bridges, many of which were in a bad state of repair because of the division of responsibility for their upkeep between the railway and highway authorities.
Replying, Mr. H. Matson. Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry, said that it seemed desirable that local highway authorities should take over responsibilities for these, on suitable terms, with the exception of trunk roads, which were already vested in the Minister. Some time ago, his department initiated discussions on those fines between the British Transport Commission and the local authority associations, and he hoped they would be successful. The discussions d'd not, however, cover the rebuilding of narrow bridges in congested areas.