§ Mr. SUMMERSBYasked the Minister of Transport what replies he has received from the manufacturers of motor cars to his inquiry with regard to making it compulsory for the rear wings of cars to reach to within 8 inches of the road, instead of about 18 as at present, in order to minimise the splashing of mud on to the windscreens of following cars; and whether he proposes to take any action?
Mr. STANLEYI have now received from the manufacturers their views on the suggestion that the rear wings of motor vehicles should reach to within 8 inches of the road. In their opinion, mere lengthening of the mud-guard would not effectively meet the difficulty, and would indeed give rise to inconvenience where vehicles come in contact with gate stops, kerbs or roughnesses in the road. Moreover, wings giving an 8 inches clearance 317W when the vehicle was laden would give a considerably greater clearance when the vehicle was light. The manufacturers recognise the importance of the problem, and state that they are continuing to keep it under examination and experiment.