§ 41. Mr. Charles Morrisonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the increases in cost to farmers as a result of the introduction of tractor safety cabs.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartNew tractors sold or hired after 1st September, 1970, have to be fitted with safety frames or cabs. No estimate is possible of the precise immediate increase in costs to farmers, but the additional capital costs of purchasing tractors with safety frames might be of the order of £3 million at current prices in a full year. If manufacturers were to continue to refuse to supply tractors unless they are fitted with their own cabs, a further £2 million in a full year might be involved.
§ 44. Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now take steps to make it clear who is responsible for ensuring that a safety cab or frame is fitted to a tractor at the time of sale.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartParagraph 4 of the Agriculture (Tractor Cabs) Regulations, 1967, places this responsibility on the person who sells the tractor.
§ 56. Mr. Goldingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what he estimates will be the saving in human lives and injuries of the introduction of tractor safety cabs.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartExperience in Sweden and in this country suggests that most of the 30 or so persons who, on average, are now killed in the United Kingdom each year by overturning tractors would have suffered no more than minor bruising if they had been provided with safety cabs.