HC Deb 14 February 1983 vol 37 c75W
Mr. Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, in designing the penalty points system for traffic offences, attention was given to the Council of Europe's 1979 "Guidelines Concerning Offences to be Included in a European Highway Code".

Mrs. Chalker

The guidelines have never been adopted as a basis for national legislation, but there is no incompatability between them and the change we made in our system to replace totting-up by penalty points. We did, of course, examine points systems already in use abroad.

Mr. Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the effects of the penalty points system on (a) driver behaviour and (b) convictions for traffic offences are being monitored and evaluated; and for how long.

Mrs. Chalker

Annual statistics are collected both on the number of accidents and convictions for road traffic offences. We shall review these as we always do, but I think that it will be extremely difficult to assess the possible effect of the penalty points system on these figures.

I shall write to the hon. Member about this.