§ 6. Mr. Martenasked the Minister of Transport what is the estimated proportion of accidents caused by cars skidding.
The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport (Mr. Bob Brown)In 1966, skidding occurred in 24 per cent. of personal injury accidents, but the skidding was not necessarily the cause of all of them.
§ Mr. MartenDoes not the hon. Gentleman agree that perhaps the greatest contribution to road safety which the Ministry could make is to encourage the four-wheeled drive, which is being developed on a commercial basis for the ordinary motorist?
Mr. BrownMy right hon. Friend is doing a number of things for road safety on the question of skidding including the new tyre regulations and continual research into road surfacing. Manufacturers are also continually improving the anti-skid properties of tyres and the Road Research Laboratory is doing research on anti-lock braking systems. Indeed, research is continually going on into the subject.