---

Road Safety

I do not advocate the view that people should face only a fine for what is a serious offence, but I think the 0.8 limit is too high, as some individuals can be within the limit yet their driving capacity is still impaired. I also do not think it is sensible policy that if someone is marginally above 0.8 they will face what the hon. Gentleman calls a draconian ban, whereas if they are just below that 0.8 limit they will not face any penalty whatever. That seems to me to be a rather extreme situation. I think there is a case for looking at this again, therefore, and I believe that 0.5 would be a sensible limit. That would allow someone who is going to drive to have one drink; after all, people who are driving should not have any more than that. There is also an issue to do with drug-driving. As the Minister will know, a recent survey by Brake found that one in 10 young drivers has driven under the influence of drugs. The Government recently announced that they are creating a specification for a roadside drugs test, which is very welcome. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mark Hunter) said last month, it was stated in a parliamentary answer to a question he asked in February 2008 that""departmental advisers were continuing their work to produce such a specification and…hoped to reach a conclusion soon."—[Official Report, 4 June 2009; Vol. 493, c. 147WH.]" That was said well over a year ago now, so it would be very welcome if the Minister could give us an update on the matter. There is also the problem of uninsured drivers, as Members have mentioned. Uninsured drivers kill four people on our roads every week and were responsible in 2006 for 36,000 crashes and 27,000 injuries. However, the average fine for uninsured driving has fallen by 13 per cent. since 1997, from £224 to £194. That is much too low. As politicians, we cannot interfere with the courts, but I suggest to the Minister that either the minimum fine should be increased or some guidance should be issued by the relevant Law Officers to draw attention to this matter, because the cost of buying insurance is now often more than the fine for driving without insurance, and that is a nonsensical situation. My next point relates to speeding. I believe that there is a case for a default 20 mph limit in concentrated urban areas. I use the word "default" because there may be cases—for example, on a bus route or a trunk road going through an urban area—where it is sensible to have a limit of 30 mph. A default 20 mph limit, especially on side roads, is a sensible safety measure. When I was a young lad we were able to go out playing in the streets. There used to be something called "safe streets". That is what we used to have. I do not see children playing in the streets so much these days, and that is partly because they are not safe any more. We ought to do rather more to ensure that we make our residential areas safer for children. Whether they are playing or simply crossing the road, they are not as safe as they could be at the moment. I am sure that we would all agree that there is nothing more tragic than a child being injured in a road accident.