§ Dr. Strossasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will make a statement on the progress made by the Road Research Laboratory, with a view to the introduction of some standard in regard to headlights of motor vehicles; and why progress has been slow in arriving at a conclusion.
§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter:The Road Research Laboratory has already published a Report recommending that standards of aiming and of intensity of headlamps should be laid down, and that, in addition, a specification for the beam distribution of all new headlamps should be drawn up and prescribed. It is proposed to give special attention to the aiming and intensity of headlamps in the tests which will be carried out in the Pilot Vehicle Testing Station at Hendon, arrangements for which are now well advanced.
As regards a specification for beam distribution, the results of a long series of tests of headlamps carried out in a number of countries, including Great Britain, 65W are being examined by the international organisations concerned. I fear we shall have to await the results of that examination before deciding what action should be taken in Great Britain. It is clearly desirable that a solution to the dazzle problem should be sought on lines agreed internationally. So far as enforcement is concerned, this is connected with such provision as Parliament may in due course enact with respect to the testing of vehicles.