Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I, too, thank Her   Majesty’s Government for bringing forward this important Bill so early in this Parliament. It will also be appreciated by many people outside this House who will be taking a keen interest in what is said. Much of the Bill is admirable and I wish it well. But this is a road safety Bill and, as my noble friend Lord Hanningfield and many other noble Lords have said, when the Bill has passed through both Houses of Parliament we do not want to feel that there has been a missed opportunity to make our roads safer. I will try not to repeat too much of what has been said. As regards drink driving, I am glad that the Secretary of State will be able to require the worst offenders to retake their tests. I also note that at the end of a ban reoffenders can be stopped from driving pending medical inquiries. Is the period that they can be stopped from driving part of the ban or an additional period? It also interests me that there will be a pilot scheme to introduce alcohol ignition interlock systems. As the noble Earl, Lord Glasgow, said, I, too, am concerned that there could be abuse of the system. The people involved in those systems are likely to be the reoffenders, who could get up to some tricks. I notice that the fitting of detection devices, which I understand to include the detection and blocking of speed cameras and guns in the vicinity, will be prohibited. But GPS systems, which show where there are speed cameras, will not be banned. They are one and the same thing. They both show where a speed camera is. Drivers can slow down beforehand and speed up again afterwards. I find the warning signs that tell drivers they are breaking the speed limit extremely useful when I drive around the countryside. Probably, they are produced at far less cost than speed cameras. Mobile phones have been mentioned by many noble Lords. I am pleased that penalties for using them have   been increased. As I understand the legislation, so-called hands-free phones can still be used. There is no such thing as a hands-free phone: a button still has to be pressed in order to use it. Why do the Government not consider a total ban on using phones while driving? My noble friend Lord Hanningfield and the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, mentioned the use of reflective coats. I have a reflective coat in my van to wear when I visit building sites. I must admit that when I visit sites that are close to roads and I am wearing the reflective coat, I feel a great deal safer. I know that I am highly visible. My noble friend Lord Peel mentioned the problems with motorcycles in his part of the world. I live and work in the Cotswolds, where increasing numbers of motorcycles tour the countryside. I know that many of them are part of perfectly respectable motorcycle groups, but there are some who, as my noble friend said, overtake at blind corners, speed and generally make a nuisance of themselves. My noble friend also mentioned his secretary who was caught driving at 33 miles per hour. My wife did not really want me to mention her, but she was caught doing 35 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour speed limit. She is an active member of a road safety group and found it rather embarrassing. She took the choice of attending speed awareness training. I do not know whether the Minister has ever been on such a course or has had the opportunity to look into how they operate, but my understanding is that these courses are open only to those who are just over the speed limit; that is, people like my wife who, is probably the safest driver I know. She drives me round the bend, but she is still one of the safest drivers that I know. She has been through unfortunate circumstances. She was shown dire photographs of road crashes, and the consequences of speeding were drummed into her. To a certain extent that is good. If people are aware that any speeding offence could result in someone’s death, that must be good. But we are pointing the gun at the wrong group of people. A number of issues are mentioned in the Bill: particularly close to my heart is the issue of people being killed in road accidents. Many people outside the House feel that due recognition in law is not given. Killing on the road should be treated in the same way as any other killing. Therefore, the proper charge following a culpable road death must be a manslaughter charge. As the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, said, there should be a charge concerning injuring people, which causes immense expense to the police, the hospitals and the families involved. The Minister talked about making roads safer. The Bill looks at the treatment of persistent offenders. The problem with persistent offenders is that they do not   have driving licences, insurance or, possibly, roadworthy cars. How do we treat those individuals? They just get back on the road, taking no notice of what the courts have dealt them. I hesitate to say it, but a custodial sentence should be considered for those repeat offenders. This is an interesting debate and good points have been made by many noble Lords. I look forward to Minister’s response.