§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce regulations to improve the safety and security of vehicles by stipulating higher standards of glass in cars.
§ Mr. ChopeA proposal for a European Community directive which requires windscreens to be made of laminated glass is being considered in the Council of Ministers. If this is adopted, it will be included in our national type approval requirements for new vehicle models and will eventually apply to all new vehicles.
Work is in hand for a British standards code of practice on windscreen glass repair which may be incorporated into the MOT test.
Although laminated glass may improve vehicle security, we are not intending to require it for other windows because it can increase the risk of entrapment in a vehicle following an accident. We are, however, pressing for agreement in the European Community on other measures for improving vehicle security.