§ 2.39 p.m.
§ LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEUMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper:
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any further statement to make following the reply given to a Question in this House about flashing headlight signals asked on February 28, 1962.]
4§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT (LORD CHESHAM)My Lords, as I said in reply to the noble Lord's Question on February 28, the Minister of Transport has informed various organisations that he proposed to accept the advice of the Committee on Road Safety that a signal by headlamps should be regarded as no more and no less than an indication of the presence of a vehicle on the road to some other road user who might otherwise be unaware of it. The organisations consulted included employers' associations and trade unions connected with road transport, and other bodies representing road users, and I am glad to be able to tell the House that these organisations gave almost unqualified support to these proposals. The Minister has therefore now decided that a signal by headlamps should be regarded in this way It does not indicate that a vehicle is either giving or taking priority, and so it has, in fact, the same significance as the sounding of the horn. The Minister is taking steps to make this advice as widely known as possible.
LORD HAWKEMy Lords, could my noble friend tell me what difference that will make to the present position?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, the difference it will make is this. There is a growing unofficial practice on the roads, particularly among drivers of commercial vehicles who have their own understanding of their own code. My noble friend may have noticed that the flashing of headlamps to indicate this, that and the other, by private motorists is sharply on the increase; and there is reason to believe that this gives rise to misunderstanding, because one driver cannot tell whether the other driver is telling him to get out of the way or is giving him priority. This is leading to confusion and, in some cases, to accidents. Therefore, my right honourable friend thinks that it is just as well to regularise the position so that everybody knows where he is.
§ BARONESS WOOTTON OF ABINGERMy Lords, would the noble Lord tell us more—in particular, what steps are being taken to instruct the ordinary motorist as to which of these signals are to be taken seriously and what is their interpretation, and which are not to be taken seriously?
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, if the noble Baroness heard the original Answer she will know that there is just one simple fact to be taken into consideration and not a large code of significances; it is merely that flashing has no more significance than sounding the horn. What my right honourable friend will do is to issue a Press notice to all motoring correspondents of daily papers, and to the technical Press. He will send other copies to all police forces, to the British School of Motoring, the Driving Schools' Association, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Institute of Advanced Motorists and other allied motoring organisations, and also to all the organisations and unions which he consulted. I think that should result in fairly widespread publicity.