asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider instructing local authorities to paint bold white lines on main roads through London to assist drivers during fog.

I have carefully considered the suggestion of the hon. Member, but I do not think that the considerable expenditure involved would be justified.

Is the Minister aware that, with the removal of the tramway track, traffic congestion in South-East London will be worse, and if he considers that it would be too expensive to provide these white lines, would he at least consider leaving one tramway line on each side of the road as a guide to traffic during fog?

That is an interesting suggestion, but I should have to give it very careful thought.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will require increased luridity of tail-lamps on passenger and freight road vehicles, also private motor cars, motor-cycles, tricycles and bicycles; and the placing of these tail-lamps a minimum distance above ground level.

On a point of order. Before this Question is answered, could we be told in what dictionary the word "luridity" is to be found, so that we may ascertain what it means?

That is not a point of order.

The law requires that every vehicle on any road during the hours of darkness shall carry one lamp showing to the rear a red light visible from a reasonable distance. A maximum height but not a minimum height is prescribed. I have no power to prescribe the size or standard of brilliance of such lamps and new legislation would be necessary to enable me to do so. I have under consideration the desirability of changes in the law affecting these matters.

Would my hon. Friend bear in mind, during the course of his deliberations, that an increasing toll of road accidents is being caused by tail lamps set too low to the ground being covered with mud, with the result that other vehicles crash into them from the rear?

The question of luridity is clearly very important.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the dazzle caused at night by motor vehicles of which one headlight cannot be switched off on meeting another vehicle; and if he will introduce legislation to make such an arrangement compulsory.

I am not satisfied that there is any sufficient case for amending existing requirements in regard to headlights. The problem of dazzle has long been studied in this country and elsewhere, but no complete solution has yet been found.

Is it not common experience that where the system involves only the taking out of focus of the two bulbs of the headlamps, a substantial amount of dazzle remains, whereas when the system involves cutting off the offside headlight and dipping the near-side one, dazzle is considerably less? Surely it follows that less dazzle would mean fewer accidents.

My hon. Friend may know that new double-dipping equipment has recently been brought out which some people consider is very effective. The whole problem is very complex and I will certainly continue to study it very carefully.

Will my hon. Friend look on this matter as one of considerable urgency with a view to reducing the number of accidents.

Yes.

Will the Minister consider, as a temporary measure, asking manufacturers of headlamps to install less powerful headlights on cars, because they are far more powerful than they need be?

asked the Minister of Transport if he will, in the interests of public safety, make it obligatory for public service vehicles to carry headlights.

Public service vehicles do in practice carry headlamps. To make this compulsory, however, would not meet the real difficulty which is to define precisely how they should be used.

While thanking the Minister for all that he intends to do about Questions which have already been answered, may I ask if he will compel the use of up-to-date headlamps on service vehicles, and restrain the use of headlamps on those vehicles which already have them if they are not able to dip them, as they should do by Regulation?

There is a variety of Regulations dealing with this matter, but the point which the hon. Member has raised shows the complexity of the problem. I doubt if I should commit myself to any such proposal as that which he has made without giving it very careful thought.

In view of the fact that the Regulation demands that the headlight should have a dipper, is it not an offence for anyone to carry a headlight which cannot do what the Regulation says should be done?

I do not think that that is a question to which I should try to reply at this stage.

Will the Minister take note of the supplementary question which I put to him a few minutes ago, and which by some unaccountable oversight he omitted to answer, on the subject of headlights?

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will require a night driving test to be included in all future driving tests conducted before a driving licence is issued to motor and motor-cycle drivers.

I am afraid that it would be impracticable to require such a test for every applicant for a driving licence.

Why would it be impracticable? Is it not the fact that many persons are capable of driving in the day-time but, due to peculiarities of eyesight, are not so capable of driving at night, and that this is the cause of a large number of accidents?

One of the reasons why I suggested that it would be impracticable was, as perhaps the hon. Member realises, that in the north of Scotland, for example, there are many months in the year when there would be only half an hour of darkness in which to make such tests.

asked the Minister of Transport if, in view of the serious number of road accidents, he will now give fresh consideration to the need for imposing a driving test on all road vehicle drivers at intervals of not more than five years.

The suggestion made by my hon. and gallant Friend has been considered from time to time and I have given careful reconsideration to it. I do not think, however, that repeated driving tests would lead to a substantial reduction in the number of accidents.

While thanking the Minister for his sympathetic reply, may I ask him whether it is not a fact that a large number of drivers have never had a driving test, and that others, by reason of illness or advancing years, have become less competent? There is also a very strong case for relating the right to drive on the roads to capacity or to proneness to accidents, to which reference has been made.

The practical difficulties are very great. Perhaps my hon. and gallant Friend will remember the very formidable series of replies which he must give when he applies for the renewal of his driving licence.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of accidents that have taken place on the main road between Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, during the years, 1949, 1950, 1951, respectively; and on what date his Department received a proposal for high-power mercury-vapour lighting on the road between Flash Lane and the Black Lion Hotel, Trent Vale.

Accidents involving death or personal injury on the length of road from Trentham Park to the south-eastern boundary of Newcastle amounted to 38, including 2 deaths, in 1949; 49, including 2 deaths, in 1950; and 46, including 4 deaths, in 1951.

The length of road referred to in the last part of the Question is part of a much longer stretch of road, about the lighting of which the council approached my divisional road engineer in December, 1948. Formal applications in respect of parts of the scheme were submitted in December, 1949, and December, 1950. Preliminary approval of the whole scheme, including the section referred to, was given by my Department in February, 1951, and final plans have now been submitted for agreement before tenders are invited.

In view of the relatively short length of this road and the fact that the local Member has been pressing for action for years, now that the seriousness of the situation has been proved can the Minister say who has been responsible for the delay? Secondly, will he agree to give super-priority to this proposal?

I confess that when I saw the details which I had to give in this reply, I was horrified by the delay that has been involved; but it has been a complicated question, and it has not only been my Department which has been involved in the difficulties. I could not commit myself to such a thing as super-priority at this stage for any particular scheme.

In view of the loss of life and the terrible tragedy, particularly among the working class who are forced to live along that main road, can we be told why the scheme cannot be given priority?

Unfortunately, there are similar problems all over the country. I assure the hon. Member, however, that the whole context of this matter is being very carefully studied.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will treat as a matter of urgency the proposals made by the City of Stoke-on-Trent for dealing with the dangerous part of the main road between Flash Lane and the Black Lion Hotel, Trent Vale, by the immediate provision of traffic signals at several points, and a reduction of the speed limit between the two serious danger points.

The Stoke-on-Trent City Council have made no such proposals to me, but I am investigating traffic condi tions on this road and will, of course, give careful consideration to any representations they may make.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has considered the application made by the City of Stoke-on-Trent for more pedestrian crossings to be allowed in the city; what decision he has come to; and what steps he is authorising to minimise the dangers on the roads in the city.

Yes, Sir. I have given this application very careful consideration and I am hoping to persuade the city council that it would be unwise to stripe as many crossings as they have asked for.

With regard to the last part of the Question, I am prepared to consider how far any improvement schemes submitted by the council can be authorised under the provision which, I hope, will be available for road safety schemes in 1952–53.

Is it correct that the city council have asked for 43 extra crossings? If so, is the Minister aware that a large number of residents in the area consider that that is the minimum number required?

Without looking very carefully at my notes and holding up proceedings, I should not like to say the exact number. I feel, however, that with some further discussion it should be possible to reach a satisfactory solution to this problem.

Has the Minister Oven special attention, as I think he promised to do, to the problem of school children crossing the road as they leave school? Does he remember that the authority were particularly aggrieved about this?

All these questions are being very fully kept in mind.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the substantial increase in road accidents last year, what proposals he has to make to improve road safety.

I hope that it will be possible to devote about £1½ million in the coming financial year to the improvement of road conditions at accident black spots. I have also under consideration with my colleagues arrangements for extending adult patrols and mobile police patrols. I hope to receive at an early date recommendations from the Committee on Road Safety for the improvement of the Highway Code and for reducing accidents involving motor cyclists.

All this should help, but I would most earnestly appeal to all road users to remember that it is on their careful, courteous and considerate behaviour that road safety must mainly depend.

Can the Minister strengthen his means of communication and consultation with local authorities, seeing that many of them feel that their advice about the number and siting of crossings, and so on, would be of the greatest value?

I feel that we try to get into the closest touch with local authorities. They are, of course, represented on the Road Safety Committee, of which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary is Chairman. I am very anxious to get the best possible advice on the question of road safety.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the large number of accidents to children on the roads, he will issue a special short Highway Code for children in appropriate wording so that this can be available for them to be taught in schools and elsewhere.

I have considered the hon. Member's suggestion carefully, but am not convinced that such a publication would be useful. The present official Highway Code can readily be used for training children in road safety and, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, two unofficial highway codes for children have been produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

As the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has thought it advisable, may I ask whether the Minister considers they are reasonable people, anxious about safety? In the circumstances, is he not prepared to consider with the Minister of Education the publication of a very simple code, which might be learned by rote by school children so that accidents might be prevented?

I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman has seen the Royal Society's booklets, which I will send to him. I think they are very good. It is doubtful whether we should duplicate the number of Highway Codes.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the incidence of accidents on the roads; and to suggest remedies for reducing their number.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Rochester and Chatham (Mr. Bottomley), on 25th February, of which I am sending him a copy.

Will my hon. Friend given an assurance that he is leaving no stone unturned to reduce the number of accidents, and please consult experts who are free from all political influence?

Yes, I can give my hon. Friend my absolute assurance that I am treating this question of road accidents as one of the gravest questions we have to face, certainly in my Department.

Is the Minister aware that there is a need for co-ordination in Government Departments? The Road Safety Committee, which the hon. Gentleman said last week was handling the matter, cannot deal with that. It is only by focusing public attention on the whole of the matter by the appointment of a Royal Commission that that can be done.

Would the Minister say how far this problem is made worse by drivers being under the influence of drink when driving cars? If so, will he consider appointing a committee to advise him on special regulations for such persons?

I do not think that that arises out of this Question.

Has my hon. Friend considered getting, or is he getting, any information from the insurance companies on the incidence of accidents? There must be a great deal of information in their claims departments.

Perhaps my hon. Friend would put that question on the Order Paper. It is an important point.

asked the Minister of Transport when he next proposes to publish the report on road accidents.

I assume that my hon. Friend has in mind the publication of an analysis of the road accident statistics. I hope to publish an analysis of the 1951 figures in due course.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but does he realise that if only he had published that analysis, most of the Questions he has had to answer today would never have been tabled?

That thought had crossed my mind.

asked the Minister of Transport how far road accidents have been abated since introduction of zebra crossings.

I regret that the trend in road accidents continues upwards, but it is much too early to draw from this any inference about zebra crossings. The introduction of these crossings has fundamentally altered the bases of comparison and no reliable statistical appreciation is practicable at this stage.

What trial period for zebra crossings is required to enable my hon. Friend to judge of their efficacy or otherwise?

There are two points. One is the question of the zebra crossings themselves, and the other is the question of their effect on road accidents as a whole. As regards the latter, it will be some time before statistical evidence could be anything like conclusive, if statistical evidence ever can be.

Does not the hon. Gentleman realise that the incidence of accidents is, if anything, growing, and that it is very essential to assist in making zebra crossings useful both by day and night? Is it not a very urgent matter that ought to be dealt with at once?

All these considerations are being looked at very urgently, and certain action is being taken. The Question I was answering was how far road accidents have been abated since the introduction of zebra crossings, which widens the subject very much from the point which the hon. Member was making.

Will my hon. Friend do all he can to stop pedestrians from hovering on zebra crossings? According to the dictionary, the word "hover" means to be in a state of indecision, which, it seems to me, is generally the case with most pedestrians approaching these crossings.

I did attempt, rather rashly, perhaps, to give some advice on that very subject last Thursday after the 9 p.m. news bulletin.

asked the Minister of Transport what action he is taking to establish zebra crossings in Milngavie, Dunbartonshire.

The initiative for establishing pedestrian crossings rests with local authorities. I have recently approved an amended scheme submitted to me by the county council, who are the appropriate authority for classified roads. I understand that the town council have not striped any crossings on the unclassified roads for which they are responsible.

Is the Minister aware that in this borough in Dunbartonshire there are two classified roads passing through—Strathbane Road and the Glasgow Road—over which hundreds of school children have to cross daily, and that the local authority, who have removed the crossings from these roads, claim that the responsibility is the Minister's and not theirs? Will he see immediately that the crossings are re-established, because the parents concerned are contemplating not sending their children to school until the crossings have been replaced?

As I said, I have recently approved an amended scheme. I am not aware that there is any outstanding difference of view between my divisional road engineer and the county council.

The amended scheme means that there is only one crossing, and not a crossing on these two roads. We want a zebra crossing on the Strathbane Road and on the Glasgow Road.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that in places where traffic is heavy some of the black and white crossings are already badly worn and the surface is uneven: and whether he will take steps to ensure that the standard of maintenance of these crossings is kept at an appropriate level.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 25th February to the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr. Shepherd).

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that serious accidents could be prevented if these crossings were kept in proper order? Are local authorities being requested to deal with the matter?

Yes; in the answer to which I referred, I said:

"I am drawing the attention of local authorities to the need to keep the stripes in reasonable condition."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 25th February, 1952: Vol. 496, c. 78.]

We are also, of course, carrying out experiments to see if we can get a better and more lasting method of marking zebra crossings.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the greatly improved results which follow when pedestrian crossings are illuminated at night; and if he will endeavour to arrange for local authorities to agree upon a standard form of illumination and for this to be adopted throughout the whole country with all possible speed.

As my hon. and gallant Friend will be aware, experiments on the lighting of pedestrian crossings have recently been carried out. I have quite recently received a report on these experiments, but I shall need to study it very carefully before I can come to a conclusion.

is the Minister aware that there is some danger in encouraging pedestrians to use, in the daytime, a crossing which is almost invisible to motorists at night? Will he give special attention to what appears to be a highly successful experiment which has already been carried out?

I am very much aware of that problem. I am studying the report and hope to make a decision in a reasonable time.

Is my hon. Friend aware that these crossings have been in existence in America for many years and that there they have a system of lighting which can be seen at least a mile away? Will he go into that question?

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the confusion caused to motorists by the widely differing types of street lighting used in the areas of different local authorities; and if he will arrange for a conclusion to be arrived at as to which is the most effective type, with a view to its adoption throughout the country.

I have no strong evidence to show that differing types of street lighting cause confusion or that to standardise them would necessarily improve efficiency in lighting. Local lighting authorities are well aware of the recommendations made by the Departmental Committee on Street Lighting in 1935 and 1937 in favour of more uniform standards of illumination, and they have, with the encouragement of my Department, made considerable progress in this direction in spite of various difficulties.

Is the Minister aware that, notwithstanding what he has said, a drive across London brings one into the most extraordinary variety of lighting which has a somewhat confusing effect on motorists? Surely this is one of the cases where, although local independent action may be a good thing, uniformity has a great deal to be said for it.

Without going into a complex argument, I would say that there are disadvantages in absolute standardisation because streets are quite different—the colour of building materials and the height of buildings are different—but progress has been made towards reasonable standardisation of intensity of illumination.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has considered the dangerous conditions at the Thatched House cross-roads, Leytonstone, as detailed in the letter from Mr. H. C. Clissold, sent to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North; and what action he proposes to take to eliminate this danger.

I have just had the signal installation at these cross-roads inspected. The equipment itself was found to be in satisfactory condition, but the working of the installation will be carefully watched over the next two weeks and the matter then further considered.

The Minister must have received the communication which I sent to him, and it will now be apparent to him that the trouble is that there are huge vans parked in front of the lights. Will he take some action to prevent the parking of vans within a specified distance of traffic lights?

That point will be looked at with many other matters arising out of this investigation.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the anxiety felt locally by the decision to remove children's road crossings in the borough of Oldbury, particularly the crossing outside Titford Road schools; and if he will consider favourably their reinstatement.

I am firmly convinced that where children have to cross busy roads on their way to and from school, adult patrols are the right answer and that uncontrolled pedestrian crossings can, for young children, be more of a danger than a safeguard. I will, of course, give close consideration to the representations which in this particular case have again been made to me.

In view of the representations which I have already made to the Minister on this matter, will he give special consideration, in view of the questionnaire signed by a thousand petitioners, to the restoration of the crossing outside the Titford Road school, and make it a controlled crossing?

I will certainly give very careful consideration to that problem. I know what a grave one it is.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to present to the House Her Majesty's Government's proposals for the future of the road haulage industry.

I am not yet in a position to add to the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary on 12th November during the debate on the Address.

Could the Minister tell us when he expects to be able to advance this matter?

I cannot add to the statement I have just made.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of Her Majesty's Government's promised legislation on the subject of road haulage, how many road hauliers whose businesses were in process of being acquired when the present Government took office, have taken advantage of the offer to suspend the course of negotiations.

I am informed by the British Transport Commission that 63 of the 95 hauliers concerned accepted the Commission's offer of postponement of the vesting date for six months.

As the 63 operators were in a more favourable position than many thousands who have been either acquired or are being restricted to the 25-mile limit, can the Minister tell the House what steps he will take to bring this favourable position to an end?

That is another question which does not arise directly out of the Question on the Order Paper.