§ 61. Mrs. Braddockasked the Minister of Transport, in view of the unsatisfactory working of the vehicles testing scheme and the possible dangers to road safety arising therefrom, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Exchange, if he will amend his Regulations to enable him to exercise greater control over the issue of test certificates, in particular in connection with the sale of second-hand cars.
§ Mr. Marples:The particular case which the hon. Member has in mind does not support the view that the working of the vehicle testing scheme is unsatisfactory or that amendment of the Regulations is required. The decision whether or not a test certificate is justified is in some instances bound to be marginal. In the present case, I am satisfied, from an examination carried out by my technical officers, that I could not take exception to the issue of a test certificate for the car concerned.
§ Sir B. Jannerasked the Minister of Transport, in the light of information 58W available to him as to the number of accidents caused in recent years by faulty equipment in motor vehicles, what estimate he has made of the reduction the compulsory testing of cars will have upon the road accident rate.
§ Mr. Marples:A reliable estimate of this sort cannot be made. In 1959 and the first nine months of 1960 there were respectively 1,897 and 1,534 accidents involving death or serious injury which could be directly attributed to mechanical defect in one of more of the motor vehicles concerned. It is certain also that this is a contributory factor in many more accidents which might otherwise be averted or minimised. Of the quarter million vehicles already tested under the scheme nearly 40 per cent. were found to have defects which might have led to an accident at any time while the vehicle was in use.