§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on progress in the development of anti-roll protection and the fitting of brake retarders on passenger coaches;
(2) how many EEC countries require the fitting of anti-roll protection and brake retarders on passenger coaches; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerConcerning the development of anti-roll protection, may I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 4 June to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman), at column 49. No member state currently has a requirement of this kind.
The United Kingdom construction and use regulations require all vehicle built since 1 October 1982 to comply with EEC braking directives. To meet these requirements most new coaches have to be fitted with a brake retarder. I regret that information about the need to fit retarders on coaches in other member states is not readily available.