Asked by: Eilidh Whiteford (Scottish National Party - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to introduce HGV overtaking restrictions on two-lane motorways and on some A-roads to reduce light vehicle journey times; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
There are no current plans to place overtaking restrictions on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on motorways and trunk roads, beyond their current prohibition from the outside lane of any motorway with three or more lanes. Such restrictions could delay journeys and lead to increased operating costs which could be passed on to consumers.
In addition, the possibility of nose to tail convoys of HGVs in the nearside lane could cause difficulty for drivers wishing to join or leave the motorway. All drivers should know and apply the rules contained in The Highway Code, which includes advice and rules to drivers on overtaking and lane discipline.
However, in very specific locations where there have been congestion problems caused by lorries overtaking on uphill sections of the strategic road network, restrictions have been put in place by Highways England. These restrictions have only been kept in place where clear evidence shows overall journey time improvements. If the Hon Member is concerned more specifically about the situation on roads in Scotland, she should contact Transport Scotland who have a similar power in Scotland to ban overtaking on specific sections of road.
In addition, we have recently increased the national speed limit for HGVs of more than 7.5 tonnes on dual carriageway roads in England and Wales from 50mph to 60mph. This may help to assist with light vehicle journey times when HGV drivers do choose to overtake on dual carriageways. This change only applies to England and Wales so if the Hon Member is concerned more specifically about the situation on roads in Scotland, she should discuss this with the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Eilidh Whiteford (Scottish National Party - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what statistics his Department has collected on the use of average speed cameras and their effectiveness in reducing (a) accidents and (b) fatal accidents.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport does not collect statistics on the use of average speed cameras on local roads.
The most recent evaluation of the effectiveness of safety cameras was carried out in the four-year evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in 2005. This evaluation did not however specifically address average speed reduction cameras.
In England, since the National Safety Camera Programme ceased in 2007, evaluation of safety cameras on local roads has been for the individual Safety Camera Partnerships, local authorities and police forces which operate the cameras.
The Highways Agency produces Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports for average speed camera systems on the Highways Agency network in England.
Asked by: Eilidh Whiteford (Scottish National Party - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many average speed cameras are operating in each region and constituent part of the UK.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In England, the Highways Agency has the following 6 Average Speed Camera systems on its network:
M3 (Junction 2) (South East Region)
M3 (from the M25) (South East Region)
M25 (J12) (South East Region)
A14 (East of England)
A38 Saltash Tunnel (South West Region)
A3 Hindhead Tunnel (South East Region)
Average speed cameras are also used in road works as a temporary measure.
The Department for Transport does not hold this information for cameras on local authority roads. Local authorities have statutory duties related to road safety and decisions about whether they operate speed cameras are a matter for them.
This is a devolved matter so the Department does not hold information on average speed cameras in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.