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Roads

Volume 454: debated on Wednesday 6 December 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to promote the use of vehicle-activated signs in place of speed cameras (a) as temporary measures at road works and (b) as permanent measures elsewhere. (107719)

Traffic Authorities have a wide range of measures at their disposal to achieve appropriate vehicle speeds and they are best placed to decide the most suitable approach at a particular location. Vehicle activated signs and safety cameras are used to tackle different speeding problems. Vehicle activated signs are generally used to tackle inappropriate speed and have proven particularly effective when used to warn drivers of approaching hazards on rural roads. Safety cameras are effective in tackling excessive speed (i.e. over the posted speed limit).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have been caused by drivers between the ages of 17 and 21 years since November 2002; and if he will make a statement. (107715)

There were 127,562 personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving drivers aged between 17 and 21 years between November 2002 and December 2005.

Information on which participant caused an accident is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the outcome was of the 1998 two-year testing period of low noise, crumb rubber aggregate asphalt by the Highways Agency and the Road Transport Laboratory. (107649)

A section of proprietary low-noise surfacing asphalt incorporating approximately 5 per cent. reprocessed waste tyres was laid on a county road by Surrey county council in 1998. However, it failed prematurely and had to be replaced. A further trial, just under one mile long, was subsequently laid on the A244 Hersham bypass in June 1999, also by Surrey county council. For two years its performance was monitored as part of the Highways Agency’s research programme. Following its satisfactory performance, a more heavily trafficked trial site on a short length of the A34 trunk road was offered by the Highways Agency, but the company that supplied the surfacing decided not to proceed.