HC Deb 10 March 1965 vol 708 cc409-11
33. Mr. Ennals

asked the Minister of Transport if he will introduce legislation to make it obligatory for car manufacturers to fit safety belts to the front seats as part of his road safety campaign.

108. Mr. Heffer

asked the Minister of Transport if he will introduce legislation to make it compulsory for car manufacturers to fit safety belts into cars as a safety precaution.

Mr. Swingler

In the first instance we propose to make anchorage points for seat belts compulsory for new cars. When that has been done we will then consider my hon. Friends' suggestion.

Meanwhile we strongly recommend the use of properly fitted seat belts. This can reduce the risk of serious injury to those in the front seats by nearly 80 per cent.

Mr. Ennals

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply, and particularly the indication that anchorage points will be made compulsory. Is he aware that a great number of the accidents which have been caused in the past, particularly to drivers, could have been avoided if seat belts had been used? May I ask my hon. Friend whether he is aware of the problem of the Purchase Tax anomaly? If a seat belt is fitted to a new car, Purchase Tax is charged, but if it is fitted to a car after it has been bought Purchase Tax is not charged.

Mr. Swingler

The Purchase Tax point is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. With regard to seat belts, we wish to make as rapid progress as possible on this, but my hon. Friend will appreciate that new designs are still being introduced, and again it is a problem of trying to arrive at an agreed standard which can be laid down if we are going to adopt compulsion. That is what we are in pursuit of at the moment, and we think that the introduction of compulsory anchorage points is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Heffer

Is my hon. Friend aware that the Government's majority may well have been reduced recently but for the fact that there were seat belts in the car in which I was travelling? This is therefore a matter of some political importance, as well as being of vital importance to the safety of the public.

Mr. Swingler

I am mighty glad to have my hon. Friend's testimony as well as his support.

Mr. Powell

Can the hon. Gentleman say when he expects the next instalment of the Construction and Use Regulations to be put before the House? Will he give an assurance that as soon as he is ready to move forward on one of these points he will not hold up the Regulations in order to combine them with others?

Mr. Swingler

There will be no holdup in the Regulations which are in the course of preparation, and will be ready very soon.

Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop

Will the hon. Gentleman pay special attention to the location of anchorage points so that the effect of the safety belt is not dependent on the structural integrity of the seats in which the passengers are travelling, to prevent compressive stresses being applied to the spines of the occupants of the seats?

Mr. Swingler

This is precisely the kind of point which is being considered by the technicians at the moment, and is a matter for consultation between ourselves and the manufacturers; but it is in order to arrive at the best technical standard, and the best design, that we must have further consultations before the use of safety belts can be made compulsory.

Mr. Rowland

Can my hon. Friend give some estimate of the extent to which the cost of seat belts will be reduced by the fact that their being made compulsory will increase the demand for them?

Mr. Swingler

I am afraid that I have no estimate at the moment.

Mr. Strauss

Can my hon. Friend speed this investigation? Is he aware that inquiries into this matter have been made by the authorities for three or four years past, and that we have constantly been told that until the inquiries are completed we cannot make any progress? Will he do what he can to see that the inquiries reach some conclusion before long?

Mr. Swingler

We certainly want these inquiries to reach a conclusion very soon, but, as my right hon. Friend may know, new improvements in design are still being made, and we want these to be taken into account before we arrive at the kind of definition of safety belts that will be necessary when we introduce compulsion.

Mr. William Clark

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether all motor cars under the control of the Government or the nationalised industries at this moment have safety belts?

Mr. Swingler

All new cars in the Government pool are fitted with safety belts.

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