§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport what further steps she intends to take to make spot checks of heavy lorries, and to prevent unroadworthy vehicles from being licensed.
§ Mr. SwinglerRoadside inspections will continue. The Road Safety Bill now before Parliament contains provisions for the annual testing of heavy goods vehicles and will empower my right hon. Friend to make regulations requiring a test certificate to be in force as a condition of the granting of an excise licence. The Bill will also empower her to make regulations requiring operators to have adequate arrangements for regular inspection and maintenance of their vehicles and records to be kept and to be open to inspection by officers of the Department and the police.
§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport how many heavy-goods
240Wvehicles were licensed in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. John MorrisThe number of heavy-goods vehicles (over 3 tons unladen weight) licensed was as follows:
Year Number* 1956 … … … 137,000 1957 … … … 151,000 1958 … … … 176,000 1959 … … … 203,000 1960 … … … 238,000 1961 … … … 272,000 1962 … … … 294.000 1963 … … … 324,000 1964 … … … 352,000 1965 … … … 371,000 * Crown vehicles and Service Department vehicles are excluded.
§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport whether she will now take powers to impound heavy lorries found by her inspectors to be unroadworthy.
§ Mr. SwinglerNo. Any goods vehicle found to be unroadworthy by one of the examiners must not be used again on the 241W roads until repairs have been carried out. Drivers and operators of unroadworthy vehicles are liable to prosecution and operators may have their carriers' licences suspended or revoked. We do no, consider that impounding vehicles would provide any substantially greater deterrent.
§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport how many accidents involving a -wavy-goods vehicle occurred in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. John MorrisFollowing is the number of heavy goods vehicles (over 3 tons unladen weight) involved in accidents. The number of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles is less, since some accidents involved more than one heavy goods vehicle, but separate figures of these are not kept.
1956 … … … 10,260 1957 … … … 10,071 1958 … … … 12,917 1959 … … … 14,739 1960 … … … 16,311 1961 … … … 16,396 1962 … … … 16,792 1963 … … … 19,004 1964 … … … 19,961 1965 … … … 22,627
§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport (1) what powers she will now take to prevent goods vehicles unloading in main streets of towns and cities in busy periods;
(2) what powers she will take to prevent heavy goods vehicles parking in city streets.
§ Mr. SwinglerMy right hon. Friend has powers under the Road Traffic Act 1960 and the London Government Act 1963, to prohibit or restrict the unloading and parking of goods vehicles on trunk roads. She uses these powers in consultation with local authorities. Local authorities have similar powers for other roads and the initiative to use these powers must come from local authorities.
§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport how many heavy goods vehicles were ordered off the road because of defects in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. SwinglerThe information is given in the annual reports of the licensing authorities, copies of which are available in he Library.
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§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Minister of Transport what further steps she will take to prevent heavy goods vehicles passing through the centre of London.
§ Mr. SwinglerIt is for the Greater London Council as traffic authority to deal with such matters.