REVIEW OF SPEED LIMITS

Early day motion 1949, tabled 18 November 2003 by Mark Lazarowicz (Labour/Co-operative). Signed by 9 members.

That this House welcomes the reduction in the road casualty rate recorded over the past decade and the Government measures that have contributed to this reduction, particularly those measures that have prompted many more drivers to slow down; recognises however that speed is still responsible for an average of three deaths and many more injuries on United Kingdom roads each day; notes with great concern that although the overall road casualty rate continues to fall the proportion of child pedestrians in the United Kingdom killed and injured is amongst the highest in Western Europe and that speed is a contributory factor in a great number of these child casualties; believes that in many places the existing limit is inappropriate to the individual circumstances, for example outside schools or hospitals or on residential roads; acknowledges that lower speed limits in residential areas are in line with Government efforts to encourage greater levels of walking and cycling, which are the most health and environmentally-friendly means of transport; and calls on the Government to strengthen its commitment to its target of reducing the number of road deaths and serious injuries by 40 per cent. and the number of child deaths and serious injuries by 50 per cent. by 2010, by instituting an urgent review of speed limits based on a categorisation of roads according to risk, while increasing enforcement and increasing the maximum available penalties for those found guilty of speeding.

Signatures by party: Labour 6, Labour/Co-operative 2, Scottish National Party 1.