§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving a motor car and resulting in (a) death or (b) serious injury to (i) motor car drivers, (ii) motor car front seat passengers, (iii) motor car rear seat passengers, (iv) motor cyclists, (v) pedal cyclists and (vi) pedestrians there have been in each of the past five years.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe information is as follows:
Accidents, involving a motor car, resulting in death and serious injuries Type of road user injured 1982 1983 1984 Car drivers 17,954 14,261 15,158 Car front seat passengers 9,023 6,427 6,798 Car rear seat passengers 3,594 3,543 3,913 Motor cyclists 12,965 12,040 12,076 Pedal cyclists 3,829 4,340 4,495 Pedestrians 13,811 14,085 14,890 Data for further years and a breakdown between deaths and serious injuries could be supplied only at disproportionate cost. Since more than one person can be injured in a single accident, some accidents are represented in more than one row of the table.
§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor car drivers involved in car accidents resulting in death or serious injury have been over the legal alcohol limit in each of the past five years; and what proportion of the total number of drivers involved in such road accidents this has represented in each year.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe information is as follows:
Car drivers involved in fatal or serious accidents: Great Britain (a) Positively breath tested or failed/ refused to provide breath specimen (b) Expressed as a percentage of all car drivers involved in fatal or serious accidents 1980 3,806 5.5 1981 3,547 5.1 1982 3,806 5.3 1983 3,294 5.1 1984 3,371 5.0
§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the reduction in the numbers of motorists and passengers killed and seriously injured attributable to the introduction of automatic and evidential breath-testing devices in 1983.
§ Mr. David MitchellMy Department has not yet concluded an evaluation of the full effects of the introduction of evidential breath testing on 6 May 1983. Other factors will have affected the number of casualties in that year and subsequently, notably compulsory seat belt wearing, the learner motor cyclist regulations and the number of police patrols.