Road Safety Bill [HL]

I am grateful to my noble friend for moving her amendment. She asked a number of interesting questions, for which I am sure the Minister will have answers at his fingertips. The German Rastplatz are a very good example of the way to go. There is practically nothing there, but they enable motorists to stop the moment they feel tired. Perhaps the reason why motorway service areas are hotspots for crime, as the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, points out, is because there is a very attractive target; namely, lots of unattended cars. In the picnic areas that we are talking about, by definition the cars will not be unattended. It is important to remember that the Bill removes a prohibition because legislation, as currently drafted, prohibits such places on the motorway network. Therefore, there is no need to define what a picnic area is. I also believe that our current motorway service areas are too big, too impersonal, and too infrequent. We know perfectly well that there are planning issues and that is why I think that the Minister’s suggestion about picnic areas is very good. I support it. I hope that he can answer my noble friend’s important points.