Oral Answers to Questions — Road Accidents.

– in the House of Commons at on 22 July 1942.

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Photo of Mr William Brown Mr William Brown , Rugby

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport (1) whether, in view of the fact that excessive motor speed is the prime cause of the continued high rate of road accidents, he will take action in collaboration with the Minister of Information to impress upon motorists the great danger involved in driving at a high speed; and will he seek the cooperation of the British Broadcasting Corporation in making those facts known; and

(2) whether, in view of the continued high rate of road accidents among children, many of whom are evacuated to rural areas, he will make an Order for a speed limit of 15 miles per hour through all villages?

Photo of Mr Philip Noel-Baker Mr Philip Noel-Baker , Derby

It would not be practicable to introduce a speed limit of 15 miles per hour in villages without also applying it to built-up areas. Such a measure, if it were observed, would seriously slow up the movement of road traffic, most of which is now essential to the war effort. My Department is, however, carrying on sustained propaganda to impress upon drivers of motor-vehicles the need to drive with care, and to have special regard for children. In this work they have acted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Information and have received the generous assistance of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Press. Many local education authorities have helped by giving road safety instruction to children in schools. I hope that these measures may prove more efficacious than the introduction of restrictions which, at the present time, it would be difficult to enforce.

Photo of Sir Granville Gibson Sir Granville Gibson , Pudsey and Otley

Is it not a fact that motorists are driving with care, and is that not proved by the great reduction in accidents in the past year?

Photo of Mr Philip Noel-Baker Mr Philip Noel-Baker , Derby

I regret to say that the accident rate relative to the number of vehicles on the road is very much too high, and motorists ought to take very much more care than they do.

Photo of Mr Reginald Sorensen Mr Reginald Sorensen , Leyton West

Is not the reduction really due to the smaller number of cars on the road?

Photo of Mr Philip Noel-Baker Mr Philip Noel-Baker , Derby

That is not the only thing, but it is a very important factor.

Photo of Mr Reginald Sorensen Mr Reginald Sorensen , Leyton West

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how many persons have been killed and how many injured in road accidents involving, respectively, tram-cars, trolley-omnibuses and motor-omnibuses per 1,000,000 passenger miles run by the London Passenger Transport

FATAL ACCIDENTS.
Persons.Per 100,000 Car Miles.Per 1,000,000 Passengers carried.
Central Buses93·05·06
Country Buses22·07·11
Coaches9·05·31
Trams16·05·08
Trolley Buses57·08·09
TOTAL197·06·08
NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS.
Central Buses6,2043·64·3
Country Buses1,1183·65·6
Coaches4282·314·6
Trams1,6495·27·8
Trolley Buses4,0725·96·2
TOTAL13,4714·25·3