§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the braking or other safety devices used on semi-trailer lorries to prevent jack-knifing; what steps his Department has taken to ensure that only the best devices are used; what is the standard measure of efficiency; if he will give the figures for foreign as well as United Kingdom-produced vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe principal devices designed to prevent articulated vehicles jack-knifing are the load sensing valves and the wheel anti-lock device.
Jack-knifing is a type of breaking instability, and efforts have been concentrated, internationally, on setting a braking stability performance standard. Such a standard is included in the EC braking directives which became mandatory in the United Kingdom for all new vehicles from 1 October 1982. Anti-lock devices are not yet provided for in the directives, but to encourage their development and use, United Kingdom legislation permits their fitment if they comply with the requirements of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 13. We believe we are the only country to permit this option.
Load sensing valves have been fitted to most heavy vehicles in service in the United Kingdom since 1970 and over 20,000 sets of anti-lock devices have so far also been fitted.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents occurred in 1981, 1982 and 1983 to semi-trailer lorries due to jackknifing; how many 31W deaths and serious injuries resulted to drivers or occupants of the vehicles as well as to pedestrians and other road users; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information in the premise form requested is not available as statistics on the causes of accidents are not held by the Department. The following information relates to accidents in which at least one articulated heavy goods vehicle (HGV) jackknifed.
1980 1981 1982 Fatal Serious Fatal Serious Fatal Serious Articulated HGV occupants 5 64 5 58 7 58 Pedestrians 3 1 2 8 1 — The total number of casualties in accidents where at least one articulated HGV jackknifed were:
1980 1981 1982 Fatal 47 44 41 Serious 217 210 206 Total 681 727 701 I will publish the 1983 figures in the Official Report as soon as they are available.