Road Safety Bill [HL]

I am amazed at the notion that all these ancient lorries are trundling along our roads, or certainly where the noble Lord who has just spoken lives, as I have not noticed that. Having tried to buy an old lorry to help cart grain on my wife’s farm, I know how difficult it is to find such things. They are all in junkyards and are not allowed to travel on the roads. Such vehicles are inspected all the time. Trying to describe a Victorian state of affairs does not get us any further forward. The suggestion that frustrated drivers should take tranquillisers will not help road safety at all. It would slow down drivers’ reactions even further and cause many problems. It is astonishing to hear that suggestion from a noble Lord who is normally very responsible as regards road safety. The notion that it is a terrible idea to improve industry’s productivity and that that is the main reason you should knock down a perfectly sensible amendment is another astonishing idea. If the productivity of the road haulage industry were increased as a result of the measure, that would be a wonderful by-product. I feel very strongly about the amendment. Sometimes you get your timing wrong, or there is a crisis and you have to get somewhere quickly. You do not want to break the speed limit but you get stuck behind a slow moving chain of traffic. Depending on the urgency of the situation, there is a tendency for people to take risks. I have done that in the past. That is very dangerous. These days it is much more dangerous than it used to be as people do not expect others to overtake; people tend to tailgate much more and it is harder to get back into lines of traffic. That is why I no longer take such risks. However, some people will still take those risks. Further, due to the existence of speed cameras people are frightened to accelerate properly while overtaking so they do not overtake in the shortest possible time, which also increases the risk. The amendment that we are discussing is very sensible as it would result in all the traffic moving at the same speed. That would result in far greater road safety. Lorries are quite capable of travelling at 50 miles per hour. The notion that they are not is ridiculous. I believe that, if accepted, the amendment would considerably enhance road safety.