HC Deb 22 November 1976 vol 919 cc868-9W
Mr. John Ellis

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the rates of involvement of heavy goods vehicles in road accidents in Great Britain in each of the last five years; how these compare with other vehicles; and what conclusion he draws about the relative safety of heavy goods vehicles.

Mr. Horam

The figures are set out below. Heavy goods vehicles had a lower rate of involvement in accidents

VEHICLES INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS PER 100 MILLION MILES TRAVELLED
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Fatal HGVs 13 12 11 10 9
LGVs 7 7 6 5 5
Cars 6 6 5 5 5
Serious HGVs 60 55 54 48 43
LGVs 70 67 63 56 51
Cars 65 63 59 56 50
Slight HGVs 130 122 116 101 101
LGVs 188 183 175 156 151
Cars 167 167 159 151 149
All HGVs 202 188 180 159 152
LGVs 265 257 242 217 207
Cars 237 237 233 212 204

Mr. John Ellis

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the rates of involvement of heavy goods vehicles in road accidents in Great Britain in 1975 on motorways, major roads and other roads; and how these compare with other vehicles.

Mr. Horam

The figures are set out below. Heavy goods vehicles had a lower accident involvement rate than cars

VEHICLES INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS PER 100 MILLION MILES TRAVELLED IN 1975
Motorways and A (M) roads A Class roads Other roads All roads
Fatal:
Heavy Goods Vehicles 5.1 9.9 9.0 8.7
Light Goods Vehicles 3.1 6.0 3.7 4.8
Cars 2.4 5.4 3.7 4.5
Serious:
Heavy Goods Vehicles 15.2 46.8 62.1 43.7
Light Goods Vehicles 18.5 51.9 55.3 51.5
Cars 12.0 48.7 59.3 50.2
Slight:
Heavy Goods Vehicles 33.0 105.2 152.9 101.0
Light Goods Vehicles 41.5 150.4 164.8 150.7
Cars 30.5 142.8 182.3 150.2
All Injuries:
Heavy Goods Vehicles 53.3 161.9 224.0 153.3
Light Goods Vehicles 63.1 208.3 223.8 207.0
Cars 44.9 196.9 245.3 204.9

Note: The sub-classification of vehicle milage between A class and other roads is only approximate.