Written-off Cars (Hansard, 9 March 1977)

§ 17. Sir Bernard Braine
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to prevent cars written off by insurance companies going back on to the road without an inspection.

§ 18. Mr. Raphael Tuck
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to ensure that motor vehicles which have been written off by insurance companies are not put back on the road.

§ Mr. Horam
My right hon. Friend is studying the evidence that the hon. Members for Essex, South-East (Sir B. Braine) and Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Fowler) recently put to him. We should be clear about the real extent of the problem before embarking on legislation for this purpose.

§ Sir B. Braine
That reply is most unsatisfactory. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that since the old system was ended in 1971, whereby insurers voluntarily informed licensing authorities of seriously damaged vehicles, no effective system of safeguarding the public interest has been introduced? Is it not clear that the Government must insist on obligatory testing 1398 before 50,000 written-off vehicles are put back on the road? Has the hon. Gentleman begun his activities in this regard by discussing the matter with the British Insurance Association?

§ Mr. Horam
Indeed, and the British Insurance Association would not necessarily support the hon. Gentleman's arguments. More relevantly, we are having discussions with the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association. We have begun our investigations in the interests of establishing whether, in practice, this is a serious cause of road accidents and whether we can do some statistical sample work to give us some greater evidence.

§ Mr. Tuck
Does my hon. Friend not feel that it is the Government's duty to avoid accidents and save lives by introducing legislation? Is he aware of the massive campaign in favour of that approach by the Evening Echo of Hemel Hempstead? Does he not feel that the sooner something is done the better?

§ Mr. Horam
I am delighted that the campaign has percolated even to Hemel Hempstead. I am glad to know that. I think that the Government should take every matter of road safety extremely seriously. Indeed, that is the approach that we take. The fact that we are looking into these matters carefully in view of the evidence given by the hon. Members for Essex, South-East (Sir B. Braine) and Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Fowler) is an indication of that.

§ Mr. McCrindle
To revert to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Essex, South-East (Sir B. Braine), is it not possible that in the immediate future the most likely remedial steps lie in an agreement between the British Insurance Association and the hon. Gentleman's Department? Why was the agreement dropped in 1971, in the first place?

§ Mr. Horam
It was dropped by the hon. Gentleman's Government because it was not thought to be an effective way of dealing with this problem. Further, there was no evidence at that time—there is still no evidence—that this was a serious cause of accidents. That is why we are looking at the problem again. Clearly, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield, has changed the Tories' tune on this issue.

Mr. loan Evans
Will my hon. Friend consider the matter again? We insist on a three-year car undergoing a test, yet a new car can be completely written off in a smash-up but can come back on the road without a test. Where is the logic in that?

§ Mr. Horam
As I have tried to make clear, new cars, imported cars, repaired cars or secondhand cars—indeed, all types of cars—can cause accidents if not properly maintained. The fact that there is a test at a certain time does not guarantee that the car is adequately maintained thereafter and will not cause an accident. We must be sure that the measures that we take—for example, the MOT test, or what is now proposed—are effective in preventing road accidents.

§ Mr. Norman Fowler
The Minister must recognise that this is not a matter of party politics. Is he aware of the mounting public concern that is shared by motoring and consumer protection organisations, and the demand for Government action? At the very least the Government should measure the size of the problem. Surely what is needed is a simple system of inspection before these cars return to the road. Will the hon. Gentleman show more urgency in tackling this matter than hitherto?

§ Mr. Horam
There is no question of a lack of urgency. It is necessary to establish the facts. As I have said, we are having discussions with the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association, which has brought evidence to us. The Transport and Road Research Laboratory has been asked to examine these matters fully. We need statistical evidence that this is a significant cause of road accidents. Until we get that evidence it would be senseless to propose legislation having no proper basis.