Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their policy is on enforcing the size requirements for signage in paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003; and, in particular, under what circumstances a vehicle would be stopped from being used on roads under this provision.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA), as amended, allows the Secretary of State to make regulations generally as to the use of motor vehicles and trailers on roads, their construction and equipment and the conditions under which they may be so used.
Section 41(2)(b) permits the regulations to make provisions concerning the particulars to be marked on motor vehicles and trailers by means of the fixing of plates or otherwise and the circumstances in which they are to be marked.
Existing requirements for the size tolerance for signage under the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 is considered appropriate for standard manufacturing techniques and adequate to facilitate good visibility for road safety and enforcement purposes, although these are kept under constant review.
In common with other road traffic laws, enforcement of these requirements is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to increasing the size tolerance for signage in paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 in the interests of simplifying transportation for industry.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA), as amended, allows the Secretary of State to make regulations generally as to the use of motor vehicles and trailers on roads, their construction and equipment and the conditions under which they may be so used.
Section 41(2)(b) permits the regulations to make provisions concerning the particulars to be marked on motor vehicles and trailers by means of the fixing of plates or otherwise and the circumstances in which they are to be marked.
Existing requirements for the size tolerance for signage under the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 is considered appropriate for standard manufacturing techniques and adequate to facilitate good visibility for road safety and enforcement purposes, although these are kept under constant review.
In common with other road traffic laws, enforcement of these requirements is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) (Amendment) Order 2023 on the safety of (a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
After an 11-year trial, safety data indicates that the safety rate for cyclists and pedestrians with Longer Semi Trailers is better than for the average HGV. Longer Semi Trailers also reduce the amount of lorries on the road, which provides an additional safety benefit.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits for road safety of extending the list of vehicles and trailers required to undergo a HGV, bus or trailer MOT to include trailers with an unladen weight of less than 1,020kg and caravans.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
In 2019, my Department published the Trailer Safety Report, which recommended further research to better understand the safety risks of light trailers, such as those with an unladen weight of less than 1,020kg and caravans. My Department therefore commissioned the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to undertake randomised roadworthiness checks of these trailers and caravans over a full calendar year to capture seasonal use. Due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the survey period was extended to the summer of 2021. Another calendar year of roadside checks from May 2022 to May 2023 is on-going. My Department will use the data from these roadside checks when considering whether further action is appropriate, but there are no current plans to require trailers with an unladen weight of less than 1,020kg and caravans to undergo an MOT.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of longer and heavier lorries on UK roads on (a) safety and (b) smart motorways.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department commissioned a feasibility study to look at whether longer/heavier vehicles (LHVs) up to 25.25m and 60 tonnes could be safely trialled on UK roads, which completed in May 2022. The report found that all countries using LHVs reported substantial gains in efficiency, translating to reductions in traffic, emissions, casualties, and costs. The report also noted there are some risks directly associated with the length of such vehicles, for example, the length of emergency refuge areas, which is particularly relevant for smart motorways. Further work is being commissioned to consider the risks identified by the feasibility study, including consideration of issues specific to smart motorways.
The Department has also been running a trial of longer semi-trailers (LSTs). The LSTs trial has seen a reduction in journey numbers and pollutants compared to articulated heavy goods vehicle (HGV) operators, and whilst under trial conditions, LSTs were operated as safely, or indeed more safely, as articulated HGV trailers.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they hold on the safety impact of the B+E car and trailer test; and what criteria they will use to review the impact on safety of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021 after three years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is not currently any statistical evidence to categorically say that competence and skills will worsen if drivers do not take a statutory test to tow a trailer. Road safety has significantly improved over recent decades for several reasons, and it is therefore difficult to identify how much the car trailer test (Category B+E) has made a difference since it was introduced in 1997 or that there is a causal link between road safety and the test. The number of trailer accidents is low, with the proportion of accidents of cars/vans towing a trailer compared to all car/van accidents, as roughly 0.45% in 2019.
Over recent decades, there has been a decline in the number of personal injury accidents for cars/vans towing trailers (with current 2019 accident figures of 474 being around a third of the total in 1997, 1442 accidents). This is likely due to several factors including vehicle safety improvements, road infrastructure improvements, other changes to licencing laws, as well as changes to the theory and practical test (for example the introduction of the hazard perception test). We also know that the number of personal injury accidents involving at least one car or van has also declined over this period (whereby total accidents have halved from 222,181 in 1997 down to 108,348 in 2019).
In respect of the demographics of the drivers towing trailers, our statistics show that individuals generally only start getting their car and trailer licence (Category B+E licences) from their late 30s and 40s onwards, indicating that people tend to start towing within the later age groups. Analysis of the proportion of licence holders relative to accidents involving a vehicle towing a trailer by age reveals injury accidents are higher within lower age groups relative to the number of licences, which mirrors the collision statistics for drivers more generally – although this excludes ages groups above 41 as anyone with a B licence pre-1997 would have acquired automatic right to the B+E licence.
We have committed in the regulations to a post-implementation review after three years and then after five years. We will keep monitoring and gathering data throughout this time to understand the impact on road safety and will take action if needed.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he hash to resume mandatory testing for people towing light trailers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will continue to encourage people who want to drive a car and trailer to get professional training to promote road safety and support those businesses.
There are no plans to resume mandatory testing for people towing light trailers.
Legal processes must be followed, and legislation is currently going through the parliamentary process. The change will be introduced at a later date, and as soon as possible. Drivers must continue to follow the current rules until the law changes.
The legislation being proposed specifically states that a review must be conducted three years after the law comes into force and again at five years to ensure the safety of our roads has not been compromised by these changes.
No assessment has been undertaken of the cost to the public purse. A new statutory instrument with an amended coming into force date will be laid in Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Statutory Instrument on Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, by what date he plans to resolve the situation for people who would have been obliged to take the B+E test have had their tests cancelled.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will continue to encourage people who want to drive a car and trailer to get professional training to promote road safety and support those businesses.
There are no plans to resume mandatory testing for people towing light trailers.
Legal processes must be followed, and legislation is currently going through the parliamentary process. The change will be introduced at a later date, and as soon as possible. Drivers must continue to follow the current rules until the law changes.
The legislation being proposed specifically states that a review must be conducted three years after the law comes into force and again at five years to ensure the safety of our roads has not been compromised by these changes.
No assessment has been undertaken of the cost to the public purse. A new statutory instrument with an amended coming into force date will be laid in Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Statutory Instrument on Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, what plans he has to implement changes to the testing process for B+E tests.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will continue to encourage people who want to drive a car and trailer to get professional training to promote road safety and support those businesses.
There are no plans to resume mandatory testing for people towing light trailers.
Legal processes must be followed, and legislation is currently going through the parliamentary process. The change will be introduced at a later date, and as soon as possible. Drivers must continue to follow the current rules until the law changes.
The legislation being proposed specifically states that a review must be conducted three years after the law comes into force and again at five years to ensure the safety of our roads has not been compromised by these changes.
No assessment has been undertaken of the cost to the public purse. A new statutory instrument with an amended coming into force date will be laid in Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Statutory Instrument on Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the withdrawn statutory instrument.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will continue to encourage people who want to drive a car and trailer to get professional training to promote road safety and support those businesses.
There are no plans to resume mandatory testing for people towing light trailers.
Legal processes must be followed, and legislation is currently going through the parliamentary process. The change will be introduced at a later date, and as soon as possible. Drivers must continue to follow the current rules until the law changes.
The legislation being proposed specifically states that a review must be conducted three years after the law comes into force and again at five years to ensure the safety of our roads has not been compromised by these changes.
No assessment has been undertaken of the cost to the public purse. A new statutory instrument with an amended coming into force date will be laid in Parliament shortly.