§ 9. Mr. Liptonasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what action she is taking in the interests of consumers to ensure the accuracy of tyre pressure gauges provided by garages for the use of motorists.
§ Mr. John FraserMy Department is developing proposals for a tyre pressure gauge testing scheme which can be nationally recognised and will take advantage of the voluntary testing service already offered by many local weights and measures authorities. We have no powers to deal with this under existing legislation.
§ Mr. LiptonIs my hon. Friend aware that the London borough of Lambeth recently conducted a test which showed that a large proportion of these tyre gauges were wildly inaccurate and that, therefore, it is fair to assume that thousands of motorists must be driving around with incorrect tyre inflation, which must be a contributory cause of accidents?
§ Mr. FraserI am aware of the Lambeth research, which has been extremely useful. The advice which has to be offered to motorists is that they should not only concern themselves about the pressure of inflation but should keep an exact balance between left and right.