Michael Fabricant has welcomed in principle the widening of the M6 motorway
between Birmingham and Manchester, but has expressed concerns over the
environmental impact "which must be minimised. I do appreciate, however,
that by following the route of the existing M6, there will be less
environmental damage than that created when the existing M6 Toll cut a
swathe through Staffordshire. I am extremely concerned, however, about his
proposed use of the hard shoulder along motorways which might cause
fatalities".

Michael Fabricant told Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport,
in the Commons Chamber today (6th July) "Although the M6 Toll road is
generally regarded as a success and it now links my constituency to the
general motorway system, it is not used by trucks or other commercial
vehicles who appear to be boycotting it." He asked what measures could be
put in place to charge continental vehicles for use of our motorways while
paying no British taxes and filling up with fuel in France and never filling
up in the UK. Mr Darling replied that a road charging scheme which would
apply to foreign vehicles is now under consideration.

As part of his statement on roads, the Secretary of State also said that the
hard shoulder would also be used for traffic on some motorways to provide
extra capacity. "I am worried about this", says Michael Fabricant. "If a
car breaks down, won’t it cause major congestion? If a tyre needs
replacing, isn’t there the danger of an accident? And when there is an
accident with a tailback, how will emergency vehicles get to the scene if
the hard shoulder is blocked? Delays could cause loss of life?

"I am concerned that this policy of using the hard shoulder has been
dictated by Gordon Brown in order to save money rather than to save lives"