HC Deb 17 May 1965 vol 712 cc1168-78

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Gourlay.]

11.24 p.m.

Mr. John Page (Harrow, West)

I am grateful for the opportunity this evening to raise a subject of importance to every road user in the country—the lighting of heavy commercial vehicles by night and by day. I hoped originally to raise this matter during the winter months, because it is between the hours of 4.30 and 7.0 in the winter evenings that the majority of road accidents happen, when it is dark and sometimes raining. It is then that defects in lighting appear most obviously.

As I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary will confirm, it is an offence to use a vehicle on the road in the hours of daylight if its lights are not working properly. In the last week or so, since knowing that this Adjournment debate was to take place, I have taken particular note of commercial vehicles, and I mean heavy commercial vehicles and not the small vans which usually fall into the category of the motor car. The lights of many of these vehicles can be seen to be defective, even by a cursory and passing look. Today, for instance, I drove down the M.1 from Northampton looking at the rear lighting of the vehicles as I passed, and out of 46 lorries which I passed eight had rear lights or reflectors which were either broken or missing, some with flex hanging down, and ten others had lights so badly obscured by mud or deisel exhaust slime as to have been inefficient in darkness.

At the end of the journey, I stopped at about one o'clock at a transport café at Watford, at the end of the M.1, and had a look at the vehicles in the car park. I and friends with me were staggered by the bad condition of some of the lighting. It was not just on the very rough vehicles, the gravel and sand lorries which have a very rough time and which one almost expects to find defective, but was also to be found on some very good vehicles owned by reputable companies. It was particularly appalling to see them coming into the car park and braking, for one could then see how many brake lights were not working properly. I spoke to a number of drivers who were extremely friendly and helpful and all agreed that there was a big problem with the lighting on their vehicles, especially the rear lighting. I hope to condense some of their suggestions into my concluding remarks.

Tonight our discussion must revolve around the following questions. First, are the present regulations adequate? Secondly, are they carried out and enforced and enforceable? Thirdly, should there be new regulations? Lastly, are there any other things which could be done to help to improve vehicle lighting and its effectiveness?

In brief, I accept that there are technicalities, but as a generalisation the present regulations demand as obligatory two side lights showing white to the front, two red rear lights, and two reflectors. The rear number plate must be illuminated by either a separate light, or by a light thrown from one of the other lights. Extra long and extra wide vehicles also need special lighting. The fact that headlamps are not obligatory is surprising to most people. Stop lights and flashing lights are not obligatory on all vehicles.

As to the front lights, if the two side lights were working I should have thought that they were adequate. The fact that headlights are not obligatory is obviously a technicality. The reason might be that because farm vehicles, for instance, are never used on roads, it is not necessary for headlamps to be fitted to a vehicle when it is made.

However, and this is my first recommendation, I have had a fitting called dim-dip fitted to the headlamps of my car for the last six months, and I am extraordinarily pleased with it. I believe that the Ministry has instituted a scheme with the use of dim-dip with London taxis, the effect being that if the ignition is turned on, when the sidelights are on the headlights operate at the same time in a dimmed condition. I have found from practical experience that this is a very good form of lights to use in roads which have street lighting but where the lighting is not good enough for the use of sidelights alone.

I hesitate at this stage to advocate that dim-dip should be made compulsory, but I hope that discerning motorists and people such as the police might be encouraged to use it and that it will become a feature of discussion among the motoring public. I know about the Birmingham experiment with the use of dipped headlights at all times during the hours of darkness, but I have found that in cities and built-up areas dipped headlights are often much too bright. With the queue of cars that travels along Cromwell Road in the evening hours, for example, I think that they would be too bright.

The existing rear lighting of a vehicle comprises the light which illuminates the number plate, the two red rear lights and two reflectors. When a vehicle leaves the factory or has been newly maintained, this rear lighting, simply to indicate the back of the vehicle, is probably adequate. I should, however, like to know the Joint Parliamentary Secretary's view about whether the existing rear lighting has sufficient intensity when vehicles are dirty and when the lights are obscured by dirt.

My view is that all vehicles, both old vehicles and those newly manufactured, should also have stop lights, which could easily be incorporated. Very little addition is needed to the electrical system to allow for stop lights. I also consider that on commercial vehicles winking lights to indicate whether a vehicle is turning to the right or to the left should be made compulsory. With those lights, and with the addition of a special light to indicate whether a vehicle is more than, say, 27–30 ft. in length, I believe that the rear of a vehicle would be sufficiently illuminated.

Friends of mine and people from the motoring organisations have mentioned the Continental or American style, with lights all over the vehicle, but I do not see much benefit in seeing what the height of the vehicle is. I see, however, that there is benefit for a person who passes a long vehicle at night if he knows whether it is just an ordinary lorry or an extra-long lorry. I would suggest some kind of triangle or cross illuminated in the middle of the back of the vehicle so that one knows whether it is a long one or not.

I come now to the second point. Are these regulations carried out, and are they enforced? I can say for certain that they are not carried out. A survey carried out by the A.A. in February of this year showed the vast inefficiency of vehicle lighting on the road. I am sure that the Parliamentary Secretary and every motorist must know that a great many vehicles—I would say at least one out of every three commercial vehicles—on the road at present have defective lighting. One reason is that they are not strongly enough manufactured. The brackets on which they are put are not really rugged enough to stand up to the job which they have to do. I wonder whether the Parliamentary Secretary might like the motoring organisations to bend their minds to seeing whether some kind of standardisation of a more rugged type of equipment could be envisaged, and whether there is some way of making the brackets much stronger.

The regulations are not enforced, either. This is proved by the fact that vehicles are being driven with their lights covered with mud and slush. This can be remedied in a matter of seconds by the vehicle being washed.

A rag smeared over the vehicle once a week in the morning or the evening would do the job. Lights, especially the brake lights, cannot be tested by the driver himself, because he cannot be in the cab pressing down the pedal and at the back seeing whether or not the lights are working. That has to be very carefully checked.

Are these regulations enforced or enforceable? They are not enforced, and they cannot be 100 per cent. enforceable with the police working almost at saturation point on traffic problems as they now are. I should like to make one serious suggestion to the Parliamentary Secretary, that when a vehicle is stopped by the police, not only the driver but the owner of the vehicle should be summoned. I believe that the powers already exist under the regulations. I believe that many companies would institute proper maintenance programmes for their vehicles if the company secretary or the managing director were to get a number of buff envelopes from the police and if his company were reported in the local press as running inefficiently maintained vehicles.

I believe that flaps are advantageous when they are attached to the back of the mudguards of the big lorries. I know that the Road Research Laboratory has been carrying out a survey on this. Could the Parliamentary Secretary give us any results of this? I should, perhaps, declare my interest, because if vehicles were fitted with these flaps the firm with which I am connected might make them, not that there would be any harm in that.

There is in Italy a regulation compelling all vehicles to carry a red triangle on which is fitted a reflector. In the event of a breakdown the triangle is placed some distance from the vehicle—20 to 100 yards, according to the circumstances—to warn traffic. I hope that the Joint Parliamentary Secretary will draw the attention of his right hon. Friend to that regulation; although, to be effective, such a scheme must be operated by all drivers.

I understand that a scheme to inspect vehicles once a year is under consideration. I hope that the Joint Parliamentary Secretary will inform us of Government thinking on this matter. I hope that, whatever scheme of inspection is adopted, the inspections will be carried out at garages which have special equipment and not, as I believe might be in the mind of the Government, only in Government testing stations. I must resume my seat to give the hon. Gentleman time in which to reply. I hope that he will tell us about the latest international standards on lighting if he has any information.

In this short debate we are discussing an important subject about which, I am sure, all hon. Members feel concerned. I hope that it will not receive only a moment of interest but that the Joint Parliamentary Secretary and the public will take a continuing interest in the problem.

11.43 p.m.

Mr. J. Enoch Powell (Wolverhampton, South-West)

For a few seconds before the Joint Parliamentary Secretary replies I wish to emphasise the great importance of the subject which my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. John Page) has raised tonight.

There are, as my hon. Friend said, two distinct aspects. One is the improvement of the Construction and Use Regulations in the matter of lighting—and my hon. Friend mentioned a number of respects in which there could be advances; and these will, no doubt, come along—and the other aspect is enforcement. On that we do not need to wait for further regulations.

Like so many people, I have been shocked to notice the large number of cases of breaches of the law in regard to the lighting of vehicles, with manifest risk to other users of the roads. The Joint Parliamentary Secretary will be entitled to say that enforcement does not fall within the province and responsibility of his Department. Nevertheless, I feel sure that if his Department—and, indeed, the general public—gives the importance and priority to this aspect of enforcement which I believe it deserves then, even with the existing resources of the police, we could speedily see some improvement in this important respect.

11.44 p.m.

The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport (Mr. Stephen Swingler)

The subject of lighting of road vehicles arouses wide interest and we are happy that this is so. Proper lighting is one of the most important aspects of road safety and we want to achieve the highest possible standards by vehicle owners and operators. I recently answered some Questions in the House on this subject, when a number of hon. Members expressed their views. Tonight the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. John Page) has drawn attention to what he regards as a number of deficiencies.

I hope to answer all the points which he and the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Mr. Powell) raised. The governing legislation is the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1957, and the Regulations made under it, which are concerned solely with ensuring proper standards of vehicle lighting.

Difficulties similar to those which the hon. Gentleman mentioned arise not so much from deficiencies in the present state of the law—though I am not claiming that new Regulations on the subject are not necessary; and I will refer to that shortly—but, as I said in replying to the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Sir A. Meyer) at Question Time recently, from difficulties in enforcing the law.

We appeal to all citizens to try to achieve a higher standard of enforcement of the existing Regulations, which would bring considerable benefits to all road users.

The hon. Member for Harrow, West has raised a number of specific points about the lighting of commercial vehicles, especially heavy goods vehicles. He gave me notice of these points and I shall direct my attention to them immediately. One of the suggestions he made was that there should be an extension of the system known as dim-dipped headlights. This is a system of lighting devised by the Road Research Laboratory for use in streets which are well lit at night. The idea is to make clear to other road users when a vehicle using the system is moving without the attendant dangers of dazzle. With the co-operation of the London taxicab owners, we and the Laboratory are at present conducting a controlled experiment to see whether the system in fact has the advantages from a road safety point of view that we hope. If it lives up to our expectations—we shall not know this until the experiment is completed—we shall certainly give serious attention to the possibilities of extending the use of the system. Certainly the problem of dazzle from headlamps, which is not confined to commercial vehicles, is one which worries us a great deal. We are hoping that this new lighting system will prove a great step forward in combating it.

The hon. Member drew attention to the problem of dirt on rear lamps. This is a very serious problem. He suggested that we ought to make it compulsory for rear lamps to be brighter to counteract the effects of dirt. The difficulty here is that those drivers who take the trouble to keep their rear lamps clean would, if brighter lights were fitted on their vehicles, be in danger of making them so bright as to dazzle drivers of other vehicles. The law on this subject is at the moment quite definite. It requires that all rear lamps—not only on commercial vehicles—shall be maintained in a clean and efficient condition. It will therefore be realised that this is a problem of enforcement rather than of making new regulations, a problem of enforcing a higher standard of cleanliness among drivers in regard to rear lamps. However, we are considering increasing the minimum required area of the rear lights of commercial vehicles. At present the area is 3½ square inches, but we are now thinking in terms of 12 square inches as the standard and also proposing to improve these standards on all types of vehicle. We are also proposing to make stop lights compulsory, possibly with different intensities for day and night use.

The hon. Member referred to the question of mud flaps and dirt thrown up by vehicles in our typically British weather. The Road Research Laboratory has conducted an interesting and valuable experiment on the problem of spray thrown up by heavy vehicles on wet roads. I am glad that some hon. Members pay attention to reports by the Road Research Laboratory; I wish that they were more widely read. The report on this subject suggests that some improvement could be made by having mud guards and flaps on commercial vehicles, although we must remember that the experiments by the Laboratory have shown that the amount of spray depends largely on the speed of the vehicle and a great proportion comes from the side of the wheels, so the effect of using flaps is bound to be somewhat limited. We have brought the report of the Road Research Laboratory to the attention of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and of certain leading manufacturers of commercial vehicles. We are in touch with the Society and hope soon to hear whether it has been able to do anything on the lines suggested in the report.

Now I turn to the question of direction indicators. The hon. Member asked whether it should be made compulsory for vehicles to be fitted with direction indicators. On and after 1st September this year all new vehicles which are fitted with direction indicators will have to comply with new regulations. These regulations require that the indicators should be amber in colour and be in the form of flashing lights. As soon as we have had experience of the effect of these new regulations it is our intention to make the new direction indicators compulsory for all new vehicles.

Mr. John Page

New vehicles?

Mr. Swingler

All new vehicles.

Incidentally, the House may be interested to know that we are also considering whether it would be practicable to specify different intensities for use by day and night, in order to lessen the dangers of drivers being dazzled by direction indicators.

The hon. Gentleman also raised the question of vehicles that protrude at the back for a considerable length. He was anxious that special markings should be used. Our regulations already provide that vehicles or combinations of vehicles which exceed 60 ft. in length must carry marker lamps on each side of the vehicle. But we are not entirely satisfied that the present situation is the right one, and we are considering together with our European colleagues on the Road Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe whether there is a need for shorter vehicles to carry lights or reflectors at the side. This Committee of the E.C.E. is doing a great deal of valuable work to try to bring about in Europe standardisation of the lighting of vehicles. It has already produced several regulations under an agreement reached in 1958 to define standards for headlamps, headlamp bulbs, reflex reflectors and direction indicators. The standards set by these regulations will be used by us for defining lighting equipment to be fitted to vehicles used in this country.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the prosecution of the owners of vehicles with defective lighting as well as the drivers. The law already provides that this should be done. Section 12 of the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1957 makes it an offence for a person to cause or permit any vehicle to be on any road in contravention of any of the provisions of the Act, or of any of the regulations made under it. A fine not exceeding £50 can be imposed for an offence against this Section of the Act.

Prosecution, as the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Mr. Powell) mentioned, is a matter for the police, but I understand that the owner or operator of a vehicle is prosecuted under this Section whenever it can be proved that the offence is due to negligence on the part of the owner and that he is generally held to be responsible when the lighting system of a vehicle is found to be defective——

The Question having been proposed after Ten o'clock and the debate having continued for half an hour, Mr. SPEAKER adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.

Adjourned at six minutes to Twelve o'clock.