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Road Safety Bill [HL]

I would be very surprised if my noble friend, when he replies, is able to say that there is any public road in Britain on which a speed of 80 miles an hour is legal. There may be many motorways on which there is an absence of police patrols and people cheerfully speed above 70 miles per hour knowing that they will not get caught—often in the absence of safety cameras to catch them as well. However, it is my understanding that there is no legal limit above 70 mph anywhere and I am sure that my noble friend will make that point. I oppose this amendment, not because I am in any way anti-motorist, but because, in a Bill that seeks to improve road safety, it would send an extraordinary signal if in an amendment we increased the speed limit. Nobody can argue that it is safer to travel faster. Therefore, we would be accepting that people are at present breaking the law and that that breaking of the law should be condoned. As the noble Earl rightly pointed out, if the speed limit goes up to 80 mph, the law will be broken at 90 mph or above, and that is even more dangerous than what is proposed.