§ BARONESS BIRKasked Her Majesty's Government:
1176WAWhat percentage of road accidents are solely attributable to "a latent defect", according to the phrase used in the case of Henderson v. Henry E. Jenkins & Sons Ltd., reported in All England Law Reports 1969 (p. 401).
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I regret that this particular information is not available. Most accidents result from a combination of different factors and it is extremely difficult to isolate those in which mechanical defects, whether latent or not, are the primary cause.
House adjourned at two minutes before ten o'clock.