---

Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the amendment although I regret that it has come before us only at Third Reading. As the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, has just said, when noble Lords consider the newly established rail accident investigation body, along with those for aviation and marine incidents which have been around for much longer, they will agree that they have been a remarkable success. Not only have they helped to reduce accidents, they have also been able to establish their causes and to present the lessons learnt in a non-confrontational way. That is terribly important. We need to reflect on the fact that over 3,500 people are killed on the roads every year, probably 100 times as many as those killed on the railways or in maritime and air incidents. It is therefore ironic that the means of transport which yields by far the greatest number of accidents resulting in death or serious injury—and the enormous pain and suffering attached to those—is the one mode which does not have an accident investigation board. I trust that my noble friend will look with favour on the ideas behind this proposed new clause.