MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT. (Hansard, 1 March 1935)

§ The MINISTER of TRANSPORT (Mr. Hore-Belisha)
This is a token Vote for £10, and it has been represented to me that it would be advisable if I give some brief elucidation of it. I am, of course, at the disposal of the Committee to amplify what I say in any particular or in any direction that may be desired. The Vote is to authorise expenditure upon a new service, which Parliament has found it necessary to establish. The Road Traffic Act, 1934, Section 6, prescribes that every person first obtaining a driving licence after the 1st April, 1934, must pass a test proving his competence to drive the motor vehicle for which he assumes responsibility. In deciding on the test Parliament gave no directions by whom or how the test was to be conducted. I therefore had to make up my mind whether there were any existing agencies whose good offices might be utilised, or whether a new organisation should be created. Among the existing agencies there were, first of all, the bodies representing motorists, but their desire is, naturally, to obtain as many members as possible. There were the local authorities, who had no suitable personnel for 1514 this purpose, and there were the police, who had many other duties. I therefore felt that the most effective course was to create a new organisation, which would have this work as its sole duty. To meet the general convenience it seemed to me that the staff should be dispersed throughout the Kingdom, so that everything could be done to arrange times and places which would put the candidates to the least trouble.
There are already in existence for another purpose 12 traffic areas, and I decided to base the new organisation upon these, putting a supervising examiner in charge of each area, and having a chief examiner at headquarters. Under these supervising examiners and apportioned among them there is to be a staff of 250 examiners. For these 263 posts there have been 34,000 applicants, of whom 27,500, including 1,130 women, completed forms. To recruit the staff the following procedure was adopted. A selection board was established in London to choose the supervisors. They reviewed 500 applications sifted from the greater number with the help of Ministry of Labour experts. The Board chose 120 for interview, finally taking 13. Boards were also established in the areas composed of officials of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Labour. 1,749 men and 212 women were invited to appear before them. All the supervisors are now selected and more than half the examiners. All the selections have been made on merits. All the candidates selected have been subjected to a practical test conducted by a certifying officer of the Ministry and medically examined.
It will be a revelation to the Committee, and it is somewhat of a commentary on the complacency with which we assume that anyone who takes out a driving licence is capable of handling a car, that although these applicants had long records of driving experience many of them did not understand the sequence 1515 of traffic lights, the meaning of signals, their right position on the road, many of them had never heard of the highway code at all, while a substantial number were rejected as unsafe drivers. These were persons who were applying for the duty of testing others. It is anticipated that a substantial proportion of the examiners will be at their stations by the middle of March. Parliament contemplated that the fee should be a maximum fee of 10s. for those undergoing the test, but it has been found possible to reduce the fee to 7s. 6d. at which figure the service will be self-supporting. It is estimated that there will be 400,000 new drivers to be examined every year, and there will be 400,000 arrears to be overtaken. The examination, the particulars of which I shall embody in the regulations which will be ready on Monday, will consist of a demonstration of the capacity to manipulate a motor vehicle and a knowledge of the highway code.
Although the actual test has been before the motor organisations in outline for many months past no substantial criticisms have been made of it, and one or two minor suggestions have been offered which I have been only too glad to adopt. The ordinary driver will, when the test becomes compulsory, have to satisfy the Ministry's examiners, but in the case of large organisations such as the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Post Office and the Police, and the larger employers of labour, employing not less than 250 drivers, their own examiners will be authorised to issue the necessary certificates. In the case of commercial employers they must satisfy the Ministry that their system of examination is not less stringent than ours and that their testers are fully competent. A system of driving tests is now in operation in 24 European countries and in 13 out of 48 of the States of America, and in some British Dominions. Its establishment here is a recognition by us of the principle that a person who accepts responsibility for taking a powerful and potentially dangerous mechanism on to the highway should know how to control it. The institution of driving tests is an earnest of the seriousness with which we regard road accidents and should prove a further protection to the public and a greater convenience to all other drivers.

§ Mr. PARKINSON
We are all grateful to the Minister of Transport for his explanation, which has been so clear that we can understand it. There is not much for anyone to criticise in this vote. It is quite new machinery, and for one particular purpose which we all desire to see accomplished, namely, to make it more safe on the roads for our people by having efficient drivers in charge of the machines. We can understand the difficulty of inaugurating such a great service as this, the examination of candidates and supervisors, which I have no doubt in the words of Mark Twain might have been aggravating or amusing as the case might be. We all want efficiency on the roads, and to secure that one of the first essentials is that those who drive the machines should be efficient. It is very necessary to have a driving test. I know that it does not meet with the approval of everyone, but those who have had any experience on our roads will agree that there are a large number of persons who should not be in charge of machines on the roads. That is proved by the number of applicants who wanted to be teachers of other people who were not able to pass the tests themselves. There always appears to be on the roads a certain number of people who are not complete masters of their machines. That is most dangerous, and is a fruitful source of accidents. I am not going to criticise the vote because I want to get as much efficiency as possible on the roads in order to cut down the enormous death-rate of the last few years. We appreciate what the Minister has done, and no doubt later on we shall be told the cost of this new service. I hope that those who are appointed to the responsible position of examiners will be equal to the task and that their services will mean increased efficiency on the roads and a saving of the lives of our people.

§ Sir ROBERT HAMILTON
The country is looking to these examinations to result in an outstanding decrease in the number of accidents on our roads. If that is achieved, then I am sure that the difficulty of candidates having to appear for the examination will disappear in the background. On that point, I should like to know whether arrangements have been made for examining candidates in outlying districts like Orkney and Shet 1517 lands, otherwise they will be put to a large expense in having to come to the mainland and pay hotel expenses in addition to travelling expenses. I have no doubt the Minister will bear that in mind.

§ Mr. GROVES
I have always taken a keen interest in the question of motoring, and I have appreciated what the hon. Member has done in the direction of securing greater safety. I should like to ask him whether he has considered making the regulations a little stringent, in this way. I am a driver myself, and I think my friends will say that I am a careful one. I have been a driver for many years, and have not had an accident. What is in my mind is this: Is it quite enough that if a man has passed, say, this year, a test, which I do not suppose will be a very serious one, that test should last as long as he is a motor car driver? My father was a railway engine driver, and every now and again had to go through a colour and distance sight test. Sight is essential on roads. Should there not be a periodic examina- tion, say, every five years? What is the use of giving a licence automatically each year on payment of 5s. with no guarantee that the holder is in a fit condition? Are the new regulations to be so effective that the first test means the continual granting of a licence to a driver for all time?

§ Dr. O'DONOVAN
May I ask whether under these regulations people who are colour blind will be allowed a licence to drive cars?

§ Mr. HORE-BELISHA
I acknowledge the very helpful spirit of the observations which have been made upon this Estimate. I will answer the questions seriatim. My hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Sir IL Hamilton) may rest assured that we shall do our best to act for the convenience of his constituents, although they do live in outlying parts. Everything possible will be done to avoid their being put to trouble, and, if at any time my hon. Friend has any suggestion to make to me for ameliorating arrangements in regard to those outlying areas, I shall be only too happy to meet his request. The hon. Member for Stratford (Mr. Groves) is always most helpful in the cause of public 1518 safety, and feel very much indebted to him. Of course, I can only apply these tests within the terms of the Act of Parliament, and I should have no power to require that every driver of a motor vehicle should subject himself to a recurring test, say, after each five-yearly period. In some ways I wish I had, but Parliament did not confer that particular power upon me. All that it did was to prescribe that every person who has obtained a driving licence after 1st April, 1934, should be subjected to a test. Therefore, I do not like the House or the country to regard the rapidity with which results can be achieved from these tests with undue optimism. They apply, as I say, only to persons who first took a licence after 1st April, 1934, and therefore it will require some lapse of time before the effects that are to be produced upon the community as a whole can show themselves. But when Parliament has experience of them, it may decide to strengthen the present powers.
The hon. Member also asked whether there was any test for sight, under which I will include the second question as regards colour blindness. It is already the law that an applicant for a licence should be able to see clearly, but the regulations which I shall be publishing on Monday will contain the provision that the applicant must satisfy the examiners that he is able to read at a distance of 25 yards, in good daylight, with the aid of glasses if necessary, a motor car number plate containing six letters and figures. That test has been accepted as adequate by the organisations to which I have submitted it, but if it is proved to be inadequate, and any suggestions are made to me at any time, I shall be only too happy to do what I am able to do in the public interest. I thank the Committee, and the hon. Member for Wigan (Mr. Parkinson) in particular, for the way in which they have accepted this Vote.