§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact that the introduction of mandatory day-time running lights on all vehicles will have on the number of road-related(a) accidents and (b) fatalities. [24294]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory to carry out a review of the methodology used by the SWOV Institute in the Netherlands for their report on the safety effects of daytime running lights. This report, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, which combined the results of 24 published studies, suggested that the universal use of daytime running lights in the United Kingdom in 1995 would have saved 648 lives. This would represent a 17 per cent. reduction in fatal accidents. The hypothetical overall casualty reduction would be 29 per cent.
The Transport Research Laboratory's review concluded that the claims for potential accident savings appeared exaggerated because daytime running lights can only be effective in preventing a limited type of accident.
The Department is proposing to carry out further research into the effectiveness of daytime running lamps.
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§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made towards the fitting of daytime running lights on all new vehicles. [24293]
§ Mr. JamiesonA commitment to fit daytime running lamps was included in the European Commission's proposals to introduce pedestrian protection features in new cars by a negotiated agreement with car manufacturers.
This element of the proposals has been deferred for further consideration.