Limits broken
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
COACHES are continuing to break the speed limit on motorways as much as ever, according to the latest speed survey.
Transport Minister Lynda Chalker told MPs last week that the 1984 speed survey showed that out of nearly 3,000 coaches observed, the average speed was 63.7mph.
About a quarter of coaches exceeded 70mph, while one in eight of those exceeded 75mph.
The survey was carried out in August and November last year and the figures for both months were almost identical. However, a sample of 130 coaches taken in August 1983, at the height of the row about speeding coaches, showed an average of 66.5mph with 30 per cent of coaches exceeding the speed limit of 70mph.
But drivers do appear to be sticking more closely to the speed limit on dual carriageways.
• Speaking at the January session of the European Par liament in Strasbourg, EEC Transport Commissioner Stanley Clinton Davis said he would be giving coach safety "very close attention" in the coming months.
A series of questions by MEPs had been prompted by the announcement that 1986 will be designated European Road Safety Year.
James Moorhouse (Conservative, London South and Surrey SE) said: "Coach safety is a matter of great concern these days following the number of recent accidents . leading to many deaths and injuries throughout the Community."
He asked Mr Clinton Davis to specify what plans he had to take action on a Communitywide basis to improve safety for coach travellers, particularly young people and the elderly.
The Commissioner replied: "We are going to look, among other matters, at the design and roadworthiness of motor vehicles, including coaches. We shall also be examining coach drivers' hours and responsibility."