§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many juggernaut lorries have been involved in road accidents with other vehicles and have resulted in the death or serious injury of occupants of vehicles or pedestrians over the past five years, on roads other than motorways, indicating the class of the road and whether the accident occurred in a dual carriageway.
§ Mr. HoramI regret that this information is not available in the form requested, since there is no generally accepted definition of the term "juggernaut". The following figures of fatal or serious accidents involving vehicles over 1½ tons unladen weight are available for 1976:
HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES† INVOLVED IN FATAL OR SERIOUS ACCIDENTS*: GREAT BRITAIN: 1976 Number A Roads Dual Carriageway … … 513 All … … 3,077 B Roads Dual Carriageways … … 14 All … … 511 Other Roads‡ Dual Carriageway … … 25 All … …1,034 † Over 1½ tons unladen weight. * Excluding single vehicle accidents where no pedestrian injured, and one vehicle and pedestrian accidents. ‡ Excluding motorways and A(M) roads. It is not possible to provide figures for earlier years except at disproportionate cost.
In general, vehicles over 1½ tons unladen are less involved than cars or light vans in accidents per distance travelled, but when they are so involved the accident is much more likely to lead to fatal or serious injuries.