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Road Safety Bill [HL]

I, too, support this group of amendments and again express my apologies for not having done so during the Committee stage when I was unavoidably detained from attending. I can assure the Minister that my not being able to be there in no way is a diminution of my enthusiasm for not only the amendments but for what is behind them. That is the important thing. I also declare again an interest as a magistrate. Far more authoritative voices than mine have already said everything there is to be said about this issue and there is no point in repeating the arguments at the Report stage. However, as regards level crossings, I was one of the noble Lords who looked at the video provided by Network Rail and I saw evidence of the staggering recklessness displayed by a lunatic fringe of drivers, any of whom could have caused unimaginable and catastrophic casualties at the scene of such an incident. I hope that when push comes to shove on these amendments, noble Lords will give them a really good shove. I also warmly support the amendments relating to bridge strikes. No one has much referred to them but there have been more than 2,000 in the past year. It is probably true that many noble Lords have their favourite sites for observing this strange ritual of the British transport system, where the drivers of large lorries and buses follow a route in hope rather than expectation. For example, not a million miles from where I live there is a railway bridge, in the aptly-named village of Wrecclesham, which has been struck on a number of occasions in recent years by a variety of vehicles despite the height being clearly displayed. Mercifully, so far as I am aware, there have been no serious injuries. But if we continue to let drivers and, ultimately, transport managers get away with dangerous disregard for road conditions, once again the consequences will be very grave indeed. I commend all these amendments to the House.