§ Viscount Simonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action, if any, they are taking to ensure that all vehicles recalled by manufacturers for safety checks are checked. [HL3081]
§ Baroness HaymanI have asked Mr. Maurice Newey, the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency, to write to the noble Lord.
Letter to Viscount Simon from the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate, Mr. Maurice Newey, dated 28 July 1998.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about what action is taken to ensure that all vehicles recalled by manufactures for safety checks are checked.
The Vehicle Inspectorate's Vehicle Safety Branch is responsible for monitoring the vehicle recall system under the terms of voluntary Codes of Practice agreed between the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and representative bodies of the motor manufacturing and retail industry. A copy of the Code of Practice on Vehicle Safety Defects (the Code) is enclosed for your information.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to notify Vehicle Safety Branch of their intention to recall vehicles and to provide information about the nature of the defect, the estimated number of vehicles involved, the nature of the safety hazard and the action planned to rectify the defect. Upon officially registering an intended recall, a manufacturer can obtain details of the owners of the affected vehicles from the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and all owners are contacted in writing by the manufacturer.
There is no requirement under the terms of the Code for recalled vehicles to be presented for official examination to confirm that the rectification work has been carried out. The vehicle recall schemes launched in 1997–98 involved a total of 839,999 cars, light goods vehicles and motorcycles and it would be impractical for this number of vehicles to be checked independently. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that their approved dealers carry out the necessary rectification work satisfactorily.
Manufacturers must inform Vehicle Safety Branch of the response rate at three monthly intervals until the recall is complete, or until it is accepted that any remaining vehicles are unlikely to be traced. The campaign may then be closed. In cases where the response rate is considered to be low, a further letter is sent by the manufacturer to owners by recorded delivery. In 1997–9 the average response rate for recall campaigns affecting cars was 77 per cent. and for light goods vehicles and motorcycles the average response rate was 57 per cent. and 63 per cent. respectively. Campaigns rarely achieve 100 per cent. because owners are under no obligation to respond to the manufacturer's recall notification and other factors such as owners failing to notify DVLA of a change of address, vehicles being stolen, written off or exported also affect the response rates.
199WATo further publicise manufacturers' recall campaigns Vehicle Safety Branch produces a six monthly Recalls Bulletin which is issued to public libraries, the Police, other government departments and is available to any other bodies or members of the public upon request.