§ 2. Mr. Pageasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to what extent his Department analyses road accidents in relation to make and model of car involved; and what conclusions have been drawn from such analyses as to dangerous features in vehicle design.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterStatistical analyses of vehicles involved in road accidents by make and model are not undertaken by my Department. Some work is being done on analyses of this kind by the Road Research Laboratory, but I understand that it cannot yet report any precise results.
My technical officers are, however, constantly on the watch for the disclosure, in service as well as in accidents, of faults in vehicle design which may affect safety. Such faults are brought to the notice of manufacturers where necessary, and many improvements have been secured.
§ 24. Mr. Keenanasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when the statistics for road accidents for 1954 will be published; and if he will make available to the House the statistics of road accidents for the first six months of 1954 immediately.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterFigures for the whole year 1954 should be published this month. I am circulating in the Official Report a summary of the figures for January to June, 1954.
§ Mr. KeenanWill the right hon. Gentleman tell me why he has not yet published the statistics for 1953? The answer which he gave a few weeks ago was, in my judgment, rather an excuse. Shall we get the statistics for 1953 before we get those for 1954, because we can better assess the blame when we have the full statistics? I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman's Department on the statistics that it has published, because when they are published they are very full.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for the last part of his supplementary question. The figures for 1953 have been published. What I think he is concerned about is the rather elaborate statistical analysis of the figures for these years, and an elaborate statistical analysis takes a little time.
§ The following are the figures:
| CASUALTIES FROM ROAD ACCIDENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN, JANUARY-JUNE, 1954 | ||||
| —— | Died | Injured | Total | |
| Seriously | Slightly | |||
| Pedestrians | ||||
| Under 15 | 233 | 2,938 | 9,196 | 12,367 |
| 15 and over | 733 | 4,098 | 9,866 | 14,697 |
| Total | 966 | 7,036 | 19,062 | 27,064 |
| Pedal Cyclists | ||||
| Under 15 | 40 | 919 | 3,666 | 4,625 |
| 15 and over | 253 | 3,738 | 13,168 | 17,159 |
| Total | 293 | 4,657 | 16,834 | 21,784 |
| Motor-assisted | ||||
| pedal cyclists | 18 | 356 | 946 | 1,320 |
| Motor Cyclists | ||||
| Drivers | 363 | 4,935 | 10,055 | 15,353 |
| Passengers | 60 | 1,133 | 3,090 | 4,283 |
| Total | 423 | 6,068 | 13,145 | 19,636 |
| Other motorists* | ||||
| Drivers | 175 | 2,438 | 8,748 | 11,361 |
| Passengers | 229 | 3,940 | 16,842 | 21,011 |
| Total | 404 | 6,378 | 25,590 | 32,372 |
| Horse Riders | 2 | 15 | 27 | 44 |
| Total Children under 15 | 291 | 4,370 | 15,449 | 20,110 |
| Total Adults | 1,815 | 20,140 | 60,155 | 82,110 |
| Total All road users | 2,106 | 24,510 | 75,604 | 102,220 |
| * Includes a small number of persons killed or injured in horse-drawn vehicles. |