§ Mr. David Youngasked the Minister of Transport what surveys his Department has carried out to estimate the increase in the number of juggernauts using motorways and their effect on the surface of motorways.
196W
§ Mr. FowlerDetails of surveys to establish the number and use of heavy goods vehicles are published annually in "Transport Statistics Great Britain", the last edition of which was published in 1979. Forecasts of future numbers of commercial vehicles over 1½ tons un-laden weight were published in the national road traffic forecasts in July 1980, and I refer to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Fry), on 2 July.—[Vol. 987, c.616.]
The effect of heavy goods traffic on motorway surfaces is kept under close review. Further information on this subject is contained in my Department's evidence to the Armitage inquiry, in particular in annexes 2 and 4 to "A Background Paper", published in September 1979, and papers 26 and 40 published in February and April 1980 respectively. Other work on the subject has been published by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory and is included in the Departments of the Environment and Transport "Annual List of Publications 1979". Copies of all these references are available in the Library of the House.