§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought 285W under regulation 61 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and how many convictions obtained; and what steps he is taking to ensure the enforcement of this legislation.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggSeparate information is not collected centrally on court proceedings for offences under regulation 61, but is combined with a variety of other offences relating to vehicles in dangerous or defective condition. The available information is published annually in "Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables" (table 5 of the issue for 1987, which will be published soon). Since 1 October 1986, the police have been able to issue fixed penalty notices for these offences as an alternative to prosecution. All forces now also operate vehicle defect rectification schemes by which drivers.can avoid prosecution for certain offences if they produce evidence that defective vehicles have been repaired or scrapped.
Further information is given in Home Office statistical bulletin 32/88, table 13 of which suggests that in 1987 there was a large rise in the enforcement of vehicle defect offences generally, as a result of these new methods of enforcement.