§ 1993. Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many commercial vehicles were stopped and inspected; how many were found to be defective; and how many of those defective had defective brakes in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c)
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 17 January 1995:
Vehicle Spot Checks.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of commercial vehicles stopped and inspected, how many were found to be defective and how many of those defective had defective brakes in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
The information requested is not available by calendar year and has been provided for the financial years (April to March) 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 and is shown in tabular form below.
Number of Vehicles Inspected during Roadworthiness Spot Checks Heavy goods vehicles Trailers (HGV) Buses and coaches 1991–92 90,118 22,565 21,106 1992–93 100,337 26,033 24,895 1993–94 93,690 26,645 24,521 The inspections above revealed that the following number of vehicles had serious roadworthiness defects which resulted in prohibition action being taken.
417W
Number of immediate and delayed roadworthiness prohibitions Heavy goods vehicles Trailers (HGV) Buses and coaches 1991–92 14,075 3,557 2,552 1992–93 14,678 3,354 2,289 1993–94 14,888 3,882 2,419 The number of these vehicles inspected during roadworthiness spot checks, which had defective brakes, is not available for these inspections alone or in the form requested. The information available, provided below, shows recorded brake related defects as a percentage of all defects recorded from prohibition notices. The data is taken from roadworthiness spot check inspections and roadworthiness inspections done for operator licensing purposes. Data for 1991/92 is not available.
Heavy goods vehicles per cent Trailers (HGV) per cent Buses and coaches per cent 1991–92 n/a n/a n/a 1992–93 30.5 42 19 1993–94 32.5 43 19 The information on inspections does not include:
- (i) roadworthiness enforcement activity on light goods vehicles; and
- (ii) limited roadworthiness spot checks confined to vehicle lighting or exhaust emissions.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to remove any commercial vehicles found to have defective brakes from the roads(a) for three months for the first offence, (b) for 12 months for a second offence and (c) confiscation for the third offence by the same owners/operators.
§ Mr. NorrisNo. Sanctions are properly a matter for the courts and the traffic commissioners.