In our previous debates on this important subject many Members had occasion to deplore the absence of real progress on road safety. That lack of progress was always attributed to an absence of commitment on the part of the Government to apply fully its strategy, adopted in 1997. Tonight I am delighted to say we are in a much happier position. The improvement can be summed up in the numbers of road deaths in recent months. In November 24 people were killed, compared to 40 in the same month of the previous year. In December 22 were killed compared to 37 the previous year and in January 19 were killed compared to 35 last year. Taking those three months together, 67 people were killed compared to 112 in the corresponding period of the previous year, a reduction of 40% in the number of deaths on our roads. That is not trivial: a drop of 40% is massive. Although we must mourn each of the 67 deaths that did take place, we should at the same time celebrate the 45 lives we would have expected to be added to the total but which have continued.