§ Mr. ThomasonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he has plans to review the present 2,000 kg weight limit below which reversing alarms may not be fitted unless that vehicle is a bus, a works truck or engineering plant;
(2) how many representations he has received concerning regulation 99 of the Vehicle Construction and Use Regulations 1985 in respect of vehicle reverse alarms; and if he will provide a statement on the future of this provision.
§ Mr. KeyDuring 1992 and 1993, 15 letters were received on this subject. Eight of these were requests for information or from those with a commercial interest, two were complaints about noise nuisance and the rest questioned whether the provision should not be made compulsory and/or extended to other categories of vehicles.
I shall be reviewing this matter when I come to consider certain other amendments to the Construction and Use Regulations on vehicle noise.
§ Mr. ThomasonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria were used in arriving at the 2,000 kg weight limit below which a vehicle reversing alarm may not be fitted unless it is a bus, a works truck or engineering plant.
§ Mr. KeyReversing alarms are permitted to be used as an aid to safety on those vehicles where we consider the driver's vision might be obscured by the shape or size of the vehicle. The prime responsibility for ensuring that reversing is carried out safely rests, however, with the driver; and he or she should follow the advice of the highway code.