§ Lord ALLEN of ABBEYDALEMy 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 will encourage the provision of facilities for a motorist to test his speedometer, so that he will have a means of knowing whether he is complying with speed limits and with the law about the accuracy of speedometers.
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, I understand that most vehicle manufacturers are prepared to make such facilities available either through agents or speedometer manufacturers. However, my right honourable friend in another place intends to consult the manufacturers and other bodies concerned to see whether any improvement is needed in the present arrangements.
§ Lord ALLEN of ABBEYDALEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Baroness for that Answer, which is rather more encouraging than I expected, in view of the fact that we discussed law enforcement yesterday may I ask this: Is it not likely to bring the criminal law into disrepute if it is so uncertain that it is impossible to know whether or not one is complying with it? Would it be possible for those facilities to be provided on a scale so that the very many motorists involved can take advantage of them?
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, I understand that the accuracy of speedometers in new cars is within the tolerable allowance, which is plus or minus 10 per cent.; and they do not usually alter their accuracy with a lot of use. When the speedometer does alter it tends to err on 604 the side of safety and to indicate a speed faster than that being travelled. Perhaps it might reassure the noble Lord if I tell him that regulations have been brought into operation to require type approval by the Department of Transport of speedometers in all cars produced after the beginning of October 1978 and brought into use after 1st April 1979.
§ Lord ALLEN of ABBEYDALEMy Lords, if I may ask just one more question: Is it not slightly discouraging to learn that speedometers get worse?—in that it encourages frustration and bad driving if you are following a chap in the outer lane who will not budge, in the fond but totally erroneous belief that he is complying with the speed limit applicable to that particular bit of road.
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, there are problems; but if the noble Lord wants to get his speedometer tested there are many manufacturers of speedometers, as I said, who will make this service available, at a cost to the noble Lord.
Earl FERRERSMy Lords, if the speedometer gets worse as the car gets older, the same applies to police cars. Therefore, the police cars chasing the people in front of them are more likely to catch them when they are in fact below the speed limit.
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, my noble friend on my left assures me that police cars are regularly tested, so that the circumstances mentioned by the noble Earl cannot arise.
§ Lord MOWBRAY and STOURTONMy Lords, arising out of that, might not speedometers be included among the other things which have to be tested in the annual MOT test?
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, we have looked at that and suggestions have been made to us that the testing of speedometers might be included in the MOT test, but it would add very substantially to the cost. The test would not be simple; either a rolling road would have to be used or an actual road test, and every minute that is added to the MOT test takes roughly £1 million more out of the pockets of motorists applying for the tests.
Viscount MONCKMy Lords, would the noble Baroness be kind enough to inform my old friend the noble Lord, Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, where in Devonshire he can obtain these facilities?—in view of the fact that, for the second time, he has now been stopped on the M.3 by the Hampshire police, who said that he was doing 85 when he thought he was doing 58.
§ Baroness STEDMANMy Lords, far be it from me to question what the noble Lord says or what the Hampshire police say, but I should be very happy, if the noble Lord, Lord Clifford, requires it, to let him have a note of any manufacturers or speedometer manufacturers who will do the testing for him.
§ Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGHMy Lords, would the noble Baroness confirm or otherwise the statement that she made about the 10 per cent. error, and in that connection would she say whether this applies to what I suppose one would call the radar equipment which is carried in police cars now, whereby they do not even have to follow you? May I say that on the particular occasion referred to by the noble Viscount I was accused of doing 87 miles an hour, whereas according to my speedometer I was doing 78. Could the noble Baroness tell me whether these 10 per cent. limits are included in these radar contraptions?—because one cannot argue with the machine.
§ Baroness STEDMANPerhaps one cannot argue with the machine, my Lords, but you can challenge the speedometer reading in open court. You are allowed to do that if you think that your speedometer is better than Vascar: that is up to you, my Lords.