§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will institute an inquiry into the degree of severity of damage caused by concrete, tubular and sheet steel lighting columns, respectively.
§ Mr. HoramIt is known from past research that the severity of damage to a vehicle colliding with a column is likely to be highest if the column is made of concrete and lowest if the column is made of sheet metal. Before an inquiry could consider the problem it would be necessary to mount a large and costly survey to find out if the severity of any secondary accidents would outweigh the savings in vehicle damage if lightweight columns are used. Because of the varying conditions, such as differing heights, location and traffic conditions, there is no certainty that anything of value would be achieved from such a survey. However we are prepared to consider an inquiry, on safety grounds, if the weight of evidence is sufficiently strong; I am not yet convinced that it is.