Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Minister of Transport whether he will announce the results of experiments undertaken by 28W local authorities in the use of dipped headlights on motor vehicles during the hours of darkness; whether these experiments have resulted in a reduction of accidents; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Tom FraserThe numbers of road accidents and casualties occurring at night during the winter of 1963–64 and during the comparable months of 1961–62 were studied by the Road Research Laboratory in about 60 large towns of Great Britain, about half of which conducted dipped headlight campaigns in 1963–64.
The results of these studies were published last August in the Road Research Technical Paper No. 73—"Dipped Head-lights Campaigns in 1963–64". The conclusion reached was that dipped headlights are probably of benefit on less well-lit roads but have no benefit on well-lit roads. This conclusion is unlikely to be materially affected by any further information which may be obtained from campaigns conducted by local authorities last winter.