§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral answer of 23 October,Official Report, 29W column 688, if he will list the inspection rates for tachographs for each of the European Countries referred to. [40009]
§ Mr. NorrisThe European Commission has to report every two years to the Council on implementation of the EU regulation on drivers' hours, based upon information supplied by member states. The last report, covering the years 1986 to 1990, provided insufficient detail to compare individual countries accurately. I am sending the hon. Member an extract from it. However, checks carried out by the Vehicle Inspectorate in the United Kingdom exceed the regulation's requirement for member states to check at least 1 per cent. of days worked by drivers and our police forces carry out additional checks.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to encourage tamper-proof tachographs. [39981]
§ Mr. NorrisEU regulations set out the technical specifications for recording equipment in road transport. From 1 January 1996, new vehicles must be fitted with a tachograph which automatically records on the chart any interruption of the power supply and each opening of the tachograph case. In addition, the connecting cable from the transmitter must have improved protection. We have also supported Commission proposals for the introduction of digital recording equipment, and regret that at its meeting in June the Transport Council was unable to agree how best to take these proposals forward.