§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress in(a) developing offset crash testing of cars and (b) agreeing the appropriate height for side crash testing. [70929]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonBoth an offset frontal crash test and a side crash test with an appropriate barrier height have been agreed as part of the new EC Directives on436W frontal and side impact (96/79/EC and 96/27/EC), which took effect on 1 October 1998. These Directives represent a useful improvement over the original Commission proposals. Various aspects of the Directives are to be reviewed by 1 October 2000. We have commissioned new research to identify possible future development so that the UK can make an effective contribution to the review.