Secondly, there is the issue of drink-driving. One of the most worrying recent trends has been the way in which, after more than two decades of significant advances in combating drink-driving, casualties from drink-driving have begun to rise again. In 2002, there was an increase in fatalities and serious injuries of some 10 to 20 per cent. compared with four years previously. That is extremely worrying. A number of measures have been proposed to tackle that rise, and it is time to consider greater use of random testing and intelligence-led breath testing. In the UK, we conduct a breath test for only every 67 drivers, whereas the average European probability of being breath tested is one in 16. It would be worth considering a change to that policy.

Thirdly, I agree with the concern expressed my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Mrs. Mahon) about the current consultation on speeding penalties, and particularly the suggestion that there should be a reduction in the penalty for lower levels of speeding. That sends out all the wrong kinds of message, and underlines the view held in some quarters that a little speeding does not really matter. That is a dangerous attitude and I hope that the Government will resist invitations from certain quarters to follow that line. I understand the case for increasing the penalties for exceeding speed limits by a high amount, but reducing the current level would be a bad step. One of the problems is that speed limits are not effectively enforced, or rather that offences are not always pursued for speeds below 40 mph. That must be tackled, so it would not be right to reduce the penalties at the lower level.

On the positive side, it is possible to make a difference to road safety. I am pleased that in my own area in Edinburgh there has been effective work between the city council, the police and various other agencies, which has had a real impact on deaths and injuries on the roads. One particularly important statistic is that last year, for the first time since records have been kept, not a single school-age child was killed on the roads in Edinburgh. It may be difficult to maintain that record, but I hope that we can, combined with reductions in other deaths and injuries on the roads.

The effective use of a combination of measures, such as education, traffic engineering, 20 mph zones and traffic calming can make a difference, along with the use of speed cameras. The police in Edinburgh have said that the package of measures has made a major contribution to the general reduction in deaths and injuries on the roads in the city. As other hon. Members have said, the number of deaths on the roads has fallen during recent years, although there have been worrying trends in more recent years. Nevertheless, every death and injury on our roads is a personal tragedy for the families of those involved, and any measures to make a significant reduction in the toll of death and injury are to be welcomed. The Government are going in the right direction. I urge them to continue along the lines that they have taken in recent years, and to resist those who spread urban myths about speed cameras being a means of raising revenue and the rest of it.

I do not want to spoil the all-party bonhomie, but I have to say that it is a bit rich that some Opposition Members contribute to the spreading of urban myths and so help to denigrate the important effect that speed cameras can have in reducing deaths and injuries on the roads. I urge the Government to continue with their programme, and to resist robustly any attempt to reduce the effectiveness of measures designed to deter speeding drivers.