Road Safety Bill [HL]

I support the amendments, particularly Amendments Nos. 78 and 79, although I do not wish to spend too much time discussing them. Some noble Lords have mentioned examples of places where they believe such restrictions are inappropriate. The noble Lord, Lord Lyell, referred to Wester Ross. The last time that I was in Wester Ross, I seem to remember, every road was a single track with passing places. If you put a white line down the middle, you would have to drive with a wheel on either side of it as the roads were so narrow. If motorways have been built there now and the relevant authorities have not bothered to put a white line down the middle of them, white lines would be the answer to enable motorists to travel at higher speeds. However, there are many other examples of places where it is unsafe to walk or even to cycle. When one thinks of country lanes one tends to think of high hedges, although that is not always the case. If you are walking along a road why should you have to jump on to a wet verge or, even worse, into a ditch because a car is travelling too fast? You have as much right to be there as the car. We need to start considering seriously lower speed limits on certain roads where that is appropriate and for local authorities to set those speed limits. We should at least make it easier for local authorities to set those limits as, otherwise, people will be marooned in villages in their houses or flats. They cannot get out as they cannot walk anywhere or they are frightened to do so. I wish to speak briefly to Amendment No. 82, which stands in my name and is grouped with the amendments that we are discussing. It might be thought odd to table an amendment to introduce regulations to cover speed cameras within two years of Royal Assent. Many noble Lords may think that there are enough already. I have done a bit of research on this, and I have been told that there are no regulations whatever, just various circulars and instructions from the Department for Transport. Given the amount of time that we have talked about speed cameras today and during the previous Committee day, it would be good for the Government to be able to rationalise what is done with speed cameras; where they are put; and how many hundreds of people have to be killed at a site before a camera can be put up. They could leave it to the local authority or partnership to put them up anywhere, which I would prefer. Speed cameras were all grey until Mr Spellar said that they had to be yellow. So they are yellow now, and my noble friend the Minister has explained why, which is perfectly valid, even though I might disagree with him. As there are no regulations and given the fact that technology is moving fast, it would be good to have regulations so everyone knows where he stands.