Clause 2 - Application of surplus income from safety camera enforcement
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
12:15 pm
Stephen Ladyman (Minister of State, Department for Transport; South Thanet, Labour)
There is common ground. We all want to establish motorists’ confidence that speed limits are appropriate and should therefore be respected. I would like Opposition Members to remember that recent opinion polls have shown that as many as 85 per cent. of motorists regard speeding as acceptable in certain circumstances. It is not. That is the battle that we are fighting. However, we have to fight it with both the carrot and the stick, as has been said. I think that the Government have got it right. The policy that we have proposed is the right one. We do not need new legislation, which is why the clause should be removed from the statute book.
Legacies have been mentioned. I can tell Opposition Members that the smiles on their faces when they won their amendment was sufficient legacy for me. However, one can have too much of a good thing, so I invite my hon. Friends to remove the clause from the Bill.