HL Deb 10 April 2001 vol 624 cc176-7WA
Earl Attlee

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the provisions of the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 will require some imported vehicles to be modified after they have been safety tested and approved for entry into service under the Single Vehicle Approval Scheme in a way which could invalidate that approval. [HL1643]

Lord Whitty

Some imported vehicles will require modifications after the Single Vehicle Approval test to comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001. Provided any necessary modifications are made properly and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and the Road Vehicles (Lighting) Regulations 1989, a Single Vehicle Approval would not be invalidated.

Earl Attlee

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether automatic number-plate readers are capable of reading number plates with a font size of 64mm by 44mm as approved for use with motorcycles. [HL1644]

Lord Whitty

Automatic number-plate reader systems are able to read number plates of various font sizes, including that approved for motorcycles. The degree of success in reading plates varies mainly according to the type of system used and the prevailing road and weather conditions.

Earl Attlee

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they were advised by the European Commission to include left-hand drive vehicles in the list of specialist vehicles allowed to use the smaller font size (64 millimetres by 44 millimetres) in the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulation 2001. [HL1645]

Lord Whitty

In January 2001 the European Commission commented on the draft regulations on the display of vehicle number-plates and requested that a special category of left-hand drive vehicles imported in low volume from other member states be created in the definition of "specialist vehicles" to exempt them from the obligation to fit standard size number-plates. The Government are currently considering the implications of such an exemption.

Earl Attlee

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the European Commission has again written to them to ask whether they have taken into account the Commission's advice on the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001; whether the Commission has set a deadline for responding to such a letter of one month; and whether the Commission has warned that it will take legal action when it has an example of the regulations affecting intra-community trade. [HL1646]

Lord Whitty

Her Majesty's Government have not received further written communication from the European Commission.