John Leech MP introduces new bill to tackle road deaths

12.00.00am GMT Tue 27th Feb 2007

John Leech MP has been fighting for better road safety in Manchester and across Britain

John Leech, MP for Manchester Withington and Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, is proposing a law which could reduce the number of road accidents in Britain's cities by 60% and save thousands of lives every year.

By introducing a default 20mph speed limit on all lit roads in built-up areas, accident numbers could be slashed. The bill has received widespread backing including from charities such as Brake and the UK National Cyclists' Organisation, the CTC.

"Every year more people die on our roads than the numbers who died on September 11th 2001, a fact that should shock us all," John Leech MP said. "Government research has shown that introducing 20mph speed limits could more than halve accidents on our streets."

"Councils would be able to keep 30mph or 40mph limits on main or arterial routes," he continued. "With car use at an all-time high, this law is essential for protecting pedestrians, cyclist, motorists and everyone who uses Britain's roads."

A spokesperson for the charity Brake said: "We fully support John Leech in his bid to reduce the residential speed limit to 20mph. The UK's pedestrian death rate is notoriously high - twice as high as some other Western European countries, so we need to take urgent and decisive action to protect vulnerable road users.

"Lowering the residential limit by just 10mph could mean the difference between life and death for hundreds of people each year, and will make the streets a safer place for those who choose to walk and cycle"

Notes to Editors:

John Leech MP's Ten Minute Rule Bill entitled "Speed Limits (Amemdments)" will be put before the House of Commons at 15:30 on Tuesday 27th February 2007. The debate on the bill can be seen live at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/ or for a number of days afterwards at the same site.

Transport Research Laboratory Report no. 363 - Urban Speed Management Methods was conducted for the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions. It reviewed data from 250 20mph zones across Britain. The main findings indicated that average speeds reduced by 9 mph, annual accident frequency fell by 60%, the overall reduction in child accidents was 67%, and there was an overall reduction in accidents to cyclists of 29%. A copy of the report can be bought at http://www.trl.co.uk/store/report_detail.asp?srid=2524&;pid=108

The charity Brake campaigns to improve road safety throughout the UK. John Leech MP was named Parliamentarian of the month for December 2006 http://www.brake.org.uk/index.php?p=925

According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of people dying on Britain's roads is consistently higher than 3,000 (3,201 in 2005, 3,221 in 2004) - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1208.

Approximately 2,948 died in the September 11th attacks in 2001 - http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/victims_list.htm.