"Better Roads the Answer"
Page 73
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
RIFYING though road accints are in their cost in lives and their effect on the national' has also been expertly estimated anon a year," stated Mr. Basil ecretary to the Roads Campaign when he addressed a luncheon by seniqr insurance executives n recently.
very best method of all for accidents is to improve the I a glance at the safety record
motorway underlines this e said. "The British driver is many as among the best in the Why make his task and his liability to accident all the greater by inadequate highways?"
The economic cost of accidents is one of the factors which produces a bill of over £500 million a year which is borne by the national economy through traffic congestion.
"This wastage is a very real drain on our national resources affecting our competitive ability in the world markets. The Common Market nations are not building roads for any other reason than that it is good business to do so," Mr. Rogers added.
He said that of the £661 million collected in motor taxation in 1961 less than a third was spent on road improvements. '
Referring to the long delays which are often caused by the lengthy administrative procedure required before major road schemes can be put in hand and Which are known colloquially as "the 31 Steps," Mr. Rogers declared: "The delay caused by the 31 Steps is usually of three years or more and the time is overdue for a full inquiry into the workings of this Procedure.
"In the face of a doubling motor traffic within the next 20 years only a courageous facing of facts, allied with dynamism of thought and speed of action, can begin to effect an easing of our traffic thrombosis." he added.