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144 
P CONSPICUITY REGS
Page 6
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Lord Adonis forced to defend markings U-turn
By C hristhri her \Naton
THE SECRETARY OF State for Transport Lord Adonis has been forced to defend to the Transport Select Committee the Department for Transport's (DfT) decision to delay the introduction of conspicuity regulations.
Fitting retro-reflective markings to new vehicles was due to come into force on 10 October by way of EC Directive 2007/35/EC. However, in September Paul Clark, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, delayed the decision, citing the need to reduce regulatory costs on the road transport industry The regulation will not now become mandatory for new vehicle registrations until 10 July 2011.
Lord Adonis told the Committee there was a need to consider the road safety issues. He said: "Assuming all new vehicle registrations from October 2009 were fitted with retro-refiective markings, [it applies 101 just 2% of all
relevant vehicles. By 2010, this becomes 11%. In a time of recession, keeping reflective branding from the industry was the right thing to do."
The DfT was unable to clarify Lord Adonis' logic before CM went to press.
John Leech, Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington and Committee member, retorted: "This branding is for new HCIVs, and the additional cost would be just 0.01% of the actual cost of a new HGV, which is £16m a year. Would that he a price worth paying for improved road safety?" Adonis replied with the same argument that keeping the costs away from the industry was an "appropriate step to take" DAF product marketing manager Phil Moon doubts Leech's figures, saying: "0.01% of the price of a £50,000 truck is £5, so no, I would guess the cost to be more like £150 to £300, depending on the vehicle size. The tape is about £150 for a 50m role, so it isn't cheap. For an 8m, 2.5m-wide, 2.5m-high body, you'll need 30m of tape."