Transport Committee backs safety calls from cycle advocates

In the Road Traffic Speed Report, the Transport Select Committee said:

• Penalties for speeding should be tougher

• Speed limits should be cut on many roads, particularly those in rural areas, towns and close to schools

• Local authority funding should be dependent on the implementation of measures to reduce vehicle speed

• Road safety should be made a priority in the Government’s Ten Year Transport Plan

• Cash should be provided to re-engineer roads to ensure speed limits are obeyed.

Richard Thomas, CTC campaigns and policy manager welcomed the report: "The cross-party committee has agreed with many of the points CTC and individual cyclists stressed in evidence to MPs.

“Excessive and inappropriate speed is responsible for at least one third of the 3440 road deaths each year in the UK and significantly reduces the quality of life in many urban and rural areas.

“Ministers must facilitate the creation of better conditions for cycling. If they do not, then the National Cycling Strategy target of quadrupling cycling by 2012 will not be met.”