§ Sir T. Kitsonasked the Secretary of State for Transport, following the recent accident in Wakefield when five policemen were killed owing to failure of the brakes on the bus in which they were travelling, if he will give further consideration to the need to introduce legislation to make the electro-magnetic brake retarder a compulsory piece of equipment in buses; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HoramWe are still awaiting a full report on this accident, but preliminary indications are that it was due, at least in part, to a braking deficiency. The basic need, for all such vehicles, is to ensure that satisfactory standards of braking are maintained throughout their life. In some cases electro-magnetic retarders may well be an effective supplementary device to improve braking performance, but they are not essential in all cases to achieving high standards, and they are no318W substitute for an efficient conventional system of friction braking. We do not therefore propose to make their use compulsory.