Road Transport Topics In Parliament
Page 13
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By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
DISQUALIFICATION FOR BAD DRIVING OFFENCES.
THE Minister of Transport was asked
by Mr.D. Adams in the House of Commons whether he could define the driving offences for which the penalty was disqualification from holding a licence. Mr. Burgin said that for certain offences the courts must disqualify unless they saw special reason to the contrary. To remove this discretion would result in a tendency for the courts to refuse to convict in cases where they thought the penalty would be excessive. Disqualification for serious driving offences was not becoming less common.
Mr. Adams also asked the Home Secretary a question on the same subject. He inquired whether suspension or endorsement of licences should be the normal consequences of conviction for bad driving offences.
The Under-Secretary, Mr. G. Lloyd, pointed out that that was clearly the intention of Parliament. The Home Secretary had no evidence to show that there was a.• growing tendency for magistrates not to disqualify drivers from holding a licence, but he entirely endorsed the view that it was still most important for the court to give full effect to the.statutory provisions on this subject.
GRANTS FOR TRUNK ROAD LIGHTING.
REPLY1NG to Mr. Lyons, Mr. Burgin said he had not yet exercised his powers with regard to the illumination of trunk roads under the Trunk Roads Act, 1936, but he would shortly notify local authorities that, where they considered that portions of trunk roads were not illuminated to standards which conformed reasonably with those recommended by the Departmental Committee on Street Lighting, he would, in certain circumstances, be prepared, after April 1, 1938, to contribute 60 per cent, of the capital cost of improvement and 50 per cent, of the annual cost of maintenance.
A TROLLEYBUS SPEED COMPLAINT?
THE Minister informed Mr. Sorensen
that he had not received any complaint during the past 12 months respecting the excessive speed of trolleybuses. He added that he was not aware that many local authorities had complained about the dangerous speed of these vehicles.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PENRITH-SHAP ROAD.
THE recent heavy snowfall on the Penrith-Shap road, which caused serious delay to traffic and the stranding of some lorries for several days, induced Mr. F. Anderson to suggest that the Minister of Transport, before expending money on this road, should consider favourably the west-coast road, -as proposed by Cumberland County Council, becoming the main trunk road, the treacherous route, via Shap, thus being avoided.
Mr. Burgin said he had under consideration the proposals of the county council for better road communication in West Cumberland. He had, however, no power to amend the schedule to the Trunk Roads Act in the manner suggested, nor did he think that there was any real justification for doing so.
PROGRESS OF FIVE-YEAR PLAN IN THE HIGHLANDS.
D EFERRING to the 100 per cent. .I.N.grant five-year plan for the Highland Counties, Mr. Burgin informed Mr. M. MacMillan that the first contract from his Department was let in August, 1936. On October 31, 1937, the total value of works completed and in progress, either by direct labour or by contract, amounted approximately to '£1,800,000, hi respect of which payments of about 2540,000 had been made. He expressed the opinion that he was satisfied with the progress made.