§ 39. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now introduce legislation to make the wearing of safety belts for front-seat passengers in motor vehicles compulsory 549 unless devices for the automatic harnessing of passengers coupled with the ignition and starting system are fitted, in the light of research and development into fully automatic systems.
§ Mr. PeytonI would prefer first to see whether persuasion can produce a marked increase in seat belt wearing.
§ Mr. OsbornWhat statistics does my right hon. Friend have to prove that the wearing of seat belts reduces injury after accidents? Bearing in mind that cars in the United States are now fitted with alarms which operate when the ignition is switched on and without the safety belt being in position, and bearing in mind that we in Britain have developed an automatic harness through the Transport and Road Research Laboratory and the Motor Industry Research Association, would it not be cheaper to make the wearing of safety belts compulsory rather than force people to install these other systems?
§ Mr. PeytonI acknowledge the weight of what my hon. Friend says. I would gladly use any device which persuaded people to wear them voluntarily. If they do not, any responsible Government, I am sure, will have to consider seriously the question of compulsion, in view of the large number of lives and serious injuries which could thereby be saved.
§ Mr. Leslie HuckfieldHas the Minister seen the research, sponsored by the British Safety Council, carried out by the University of Aston in Birmingham showing that only 15 per cent. of motorists regularly wear their safety belts? Further, is he aware that even when he tried one of his so-called massive campaigns in the North-East, even that raised the level to only 25 per cent.? In the light of those two disastrous statistics, will the Minister now make the wearing of these belts compulsory?
§ Mr. PeytonI cannot usefully add to what I have said.