"Roads• Programme Inadequate "—M.P.
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ALTHOUGH highway construction in .this country is making good progress, it is being outstripped by the growth of road transport. The road-building programme is far from adequate to the country's needs, Ms. Gerald Nabarro, president of the Road Passenger and Transport Association, said at the Association's annual dinner-dance in Birmingham.
He pointed out that the number of vehicles on the roads would double by 1968 if the present rate of increase were maintained. After emphasizing that the purchase tax on goods vehicles was the only example of tax on capital equipment, he made a strong plea for its abolition. Easing the burden of fuel tax, he said, would also be in the best interests of' the expanding economy of the country.
Chief Supt. H. Palmer, of Birmingham Police, said drivers should run with dipped headlights when travelling in illlit streets. More than half the pedestrians aged 60 and over killed in the city last year met their deaths after dark, and many would have been alive today if the vehicles had been. running with dipped headlights in place of sidelights.
Paying a tribute 'to ithe value of road safety driving competitions. Aid. D. Johnstone, Lord Mayor, asked members of the Association to encourage as many drivers as possible to enter these events. Successful entrants had an incentive to maintain a good record and they set' a high standard for other drivers.