REVIEW OF SPEED LIMITS

Early day motion 206, tabled 3 December 2003 by Mark Lazarowicz (Labour/Co-operative). Signed by 88 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 UK roads each day; notes with great concern that although the overall road casualty rate continues to fall, the UK still has one of the worst records in Western Europe for killing and injuring child pedestrians and that speed is a contributory factor in a great number of these child casualties; recognises that in many places the existing limit is clearly inappropriate to the individual circumstances, for example outside schools or hospitals or on residential roads; recognises furthermore 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 healthy and environmentally-friendly means of transport; and therefore 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 62, Liberal Democrat 13, Labour/Co-operative 6, Plaid Cymru 2, Scottish National Party 2, Conservative 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.