Road Safety Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 138:"Page 45, line 8, after ““controls”” insert ““on entry and””" The noble Baroness said: The possible provision of picnic areas on motorways is an interesting clause. We understand that this is primarily to provide rest points so that drivers who are fatigued while driving on motorways have somewhere to pull in. Serious implications are posed by the inclusion of the clause as drafted. I wish to go into the issue a little more deeply. The first question is the cost of the pilot scheme. The regulatory impact assessment calculates that,"““the cost of providing a pilot picnic site will be about £3 million with annual running costs of around £300,000 (for regular cleaning of toilets, litter clearance and landscape maintenance).””" A number of questions arise. Who will pay the bill? Who will provide the £3 million for each of the sites? Who will provide the revenue for their upkeep? We understand that there is to be no commercial involvement in the sites. They will be areas laid out—presumably much as are les aires in France where people can pull in. But they cannot just be left; they will require maintenance. Will the Minister indicate who will provide the capital construction costs? Who will be responsible for ensuring that they are cleaned? Who will provide the security? There is always great concern about stopping on a road at any time, in particular in an area where there may not be many people. Cars roar past and not much attention is paid to what is going on. The very few that I know anything about that are there already tend to be pull-offs on the road and away from the main road. There is a huge question of security. Will there be a rationale following the pilot for determining the location of future sites? Will there be environmental planning requirements to go into before the areas are provided? Will they be provided near traffic black spots, which is important to take into consideration if those areas are to be for drivers who are feeling fatigued or just need to rest? Although my assumption is that there will be picnic tables, litter baskets and probably toilets, is that the intention? We understand that those areas will not be manned. They will just be areas at which people can stop. So who will be responsible for their security? Will it be the police or the Highways Agency? Will there be telephones so that if there are problems people can call for help? What consideration has been given to the impact of establishing those picnic areas on the operations of existing motorway service areas? Members of the Committee will no doubt be aware that there has been a substantial tail-off in the development of motorway services. I also think that there is a limit on the number that can be provided. Would it perhaps not be more prudent to provide those areas near to motorway areas or as part of them or, indeed, to allow more motorway pull-off sites to be developed by those who are running them commercially? No one underestimates the dangers of fatigue when people are driving on motorways, sometimes for a long time. It is imperative that they are able to move off the road when they feel tired. As I said, there is a very long distance between some motorway service stations. I wonder whether the Minister will be able to reassure me on any of those points. I beg to move.