LIB DEM CONFERENCE: Euro-MP calls for road safety reforms

9.59.56am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 23rd Sep 2003

Speaking today at the Liberal Democrats Conference in Brighton, West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne is supporting calls for greater road safety reforms.

The Conference will be debating road safety on Tuesday afternoon. The motion being debated calls for a reduction in the maximum permitted blood alcohol level and impose stiffer penalties including a new offence of causing death by negligent driving. It also calls for steps to be taken to campaign within Europe for car manufacturers to create safer, more pedestrian-friendly car fronts and for the retro-fitment of bull bars to be banned.

Liz said:

"In the European Parliament we were successful in getting bull bars banned from new cars and work has already begun to force car manufacturers to improve safety to pedestrians. Although casualty figures have recently been falling, the UK has one of the worst records for child pedestrian death in Europe, and progress has been much slower in rural areas - 60% of fatal casualties were on rural roads in 2002.

"We must be less complacent about bad driving and road safety. It is unacceptable that having made so much progress in dealing with disease, our roads are now one of the biggest child killers we have."