§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in consideration of the capital expenditure involved, he will raise the ceiling of MOT tests carried out annually by any testing station from 300 to 600 to qualify for exemption from the requirement to install a roller brake testing machine.
§ Dr. GilbertNo. Brake failures account for more than a quarter of road accidents in which the defective condition of vehicles results in death or serious injury. I attach importance to providing more effective means of assessing the braking performance of vehicles which undergo the MOT test. While the222W threshold of 300 tests a year recognises the special problems of providing this service in remote areas with low population, to raise it would defeat the purpose of this requirement.