§ 22. Mr. Crouchasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he has yet considered the report from the committee set up to inquire into flashing indicators on motor vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI cannot yet add to my Answer last week to Questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, Central (Sir F. Medlicott) and the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Vauxhall (Mr. G. R. Strauss).
§ Mr. CrouchDoes my right hon. Friend not realise the urgency of this matter? There are today, to my knowledge, five different types of these flashing lights, with five different colours. Since 1939 the need for standardisation has been impressed upon us. Why, therefore, should we have so much confusion with so many different signals?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterAs, I think, my hon. Friend knows, the use of these devices was authorised a year or two ago at the request of the motor industry to facilitate its export trade so as to permit standardisation of signs on the basis of those used in foreign countries. I really think that before deciding to make any reversal of what was, from the point of view of that important trade, a valuable concession, it is essential to complete a proper and expert examination, and to be quite clear which of these signs can be authorised and can continue to be authorised without danger. It is not quite so easy a matter as my hon. Friend might think.
§ Mr. PagetCould we ever get any improvement if we were tied to one method? Cannot people have the intelligence to see that all these indicators mean that cars are going to turn?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI think that the hon. and learned Member somewhat oversimplifies the problem.
§ Sir F. MedlicottWill my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the primary consideration is the safety and convenience of users of our own roads and not the export trade?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterYes. That, of course, is my prime responsibility in the matter; but the same considerations do not apply to all these signs, and I think it is important to get the answer right.
§ Mr. FernyhoughWill the Minister remind the British Motor Trade Association that the car which sells the best in the world and is today competing effectively with British production is the Volkswagen, which still has the arm type of indicator? If that is selling in Europe and America, why should we resort to flashing indicators?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI think that the British motor industry, which has done a very good job in the export trade, is familiar with that problem.