GB News host Ben Leo clashed with environmentalist Donnachadh McCarthy in a fiery grilling over the "war on motorists".
Speaking to GB News, Mr McCarthy admitted that although Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are "Orwellian", the war instead is on "children's safety".
Labour has sparked fury among motorists after reversing Tory proposals, which made it more difficult for local authorities to introduce Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
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Donnachadh McCarthy clashed with Ben Leo over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
|GB NEWS
Asked by Ben why he "hates motorists so much", Mr McCarthy hit back: "Come on, Ben, that's a really unfair question. As a parent, I know you value the safety of your kids."
Ben then jibed: "I value big gas-guzzling cars that I can take my kids safely to nursery and school in."
Highlighting the "war on children's safety" as opposed to a "war on motorists", Mr McCarthy argued: "I'm sure your kids will sometimes walk on the street and I hope you will want them to be safe, I know you would you care about your kids.
"You're right, this is Orwellian, but the actual war has been on kids safety. The idea that people are waging war on motorists, well actually who's been killed? Not motorists by pedestrians or by kids cycling, it's the kids that are being killed."
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Labour has reversed Tory proposals to make it more difficult for local authorities to introduce low traffic neighbourhoods
|PA
Citing the statistics of children killed by motorists, Mr McCarthy stated: "Do you know Ben, 15,000 kids are injured, maimed or killed on our roads by drivers every year?"
Ben then interjected, asking Mr McCarthy: "That's awful, but should we stop driving?"
Mr McCarthy then asked Ben directly: "So how many kids do you think should be killed or injured on our roads every year?"
Ben hit back: "I'd rather none. I love children, including my own children, of course. But I'm saying again, do we stop driving? Do we reduce the speed limit to five miles per hour? What do you want to go to?"
Mr McCarthy told GB News that the war isn't on motorists, but 'on children's safety'
|GB NEWS
Expressing his support for 20mph speed limits, Mr McCarthy said: "If you have a speed limit of 30 miles per hour versus 20 miles per hour, you kill eight times more people.
"20 miles per hour is what I support, and actually the vast majority of drivers polled support 20 mile per hour zones in urban areas on kids streets, they support safe cycle routes to schools and they support Low Traffic Neighbourhoods because the amount of crashes has come down in low traffic neighbours by 70 per cent. This is a serious subject."
Asked by Ben what his "biggest concern" is on the roads, suggesting it may be climate change, Mr McCarthy concluded: "I founded a group called Stop Killing Cyclists to save the lives of kids in London cycling, and actually what we have successfully done is brought down the death rate by 50 per cent by safer cycle lanes and by LTN's, and we're proud of that."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The Government is absolutely on the side of drivers focusing on making journeys safer and smoother and saving motorists money. We're making our roads safer to drive on and we'll set out the next steps for the road safety strategy over a decade in due course."