§ Sir Anthony Meyerasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to legislate to make compulsory the sheeting of lorries carrying loads liable to spill, to overflow, or to create dust in the air or mud on the road.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeRegulation 97 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1978 already requires that the load carried by a vehicle must be secured, if necessary by physical restraint other than its own weight, so that neither danger nor nuisance is likely to be caused by the load falling or blowing off. More detailed advice on securing loads is provided in my Department's code of practice on safe loading.
Loose bulk loads will usually need some form of covering but each case has to be judged on its merits, and on balance I think it is best to leave some flexibility in the law.