§ Mr. AlisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating illegally on British roads by carrying no licence, insurance or taxation disc.
§ Mr. NorrisA sample roadside check held earlier this year in the south-east and Metropolitan traffic area indicated that about 8 per cent. of vehicles stopped illegally had no operator's licence. However, the exercise was targeted on vehicles thought likely to be offending the regulations, so the estimate may be considerably higher than the true national proportion of such vehicles.
226WWe have no reliable estimate of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating without insurance.
A roadside survey conducted in 1989 found that some 2.4 per cent. of goods vehicles were operating without VED. An up-to-date estimate based on a survey conducted in summer 1994 will be published shortly.