. . . but Government Support is Most Unlikely
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FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
ALTHOUGH it is down for second reading in April, Mr. Speir's Bill does not, at this moment, look likely to get Government support.
Mr. Marples is believed to have definite ideas of his own about the problem. They centre round the enforcement of existing laws rather than the passing of new ones.
This does not mean he is unsympathetic to the problem. Regulations laidlast.July will make it an offence, from New Year's Day, to misuse the excess fuel device to provide extra power while running.
On new vehicles the control device will have to be inaccessible to persons aboard while the vehicle is moving, and all vehicles will need to be adapted to conform by next July.
It is already an offence for any vehicle on the road to emit smoke or fumes likely to cause danger, damage or injury, and last year there were 1,875 prosecutions by the police under .these regulations.
Like Mr. Speir, the Minister does, however, believe that a meter for measuring and recording smoke discharged would be a help to the police.
u40 Experiments are now going on to see whether a suitable " roadside " test •procedure can be developed. Meanwhile, the police are using their powers to prohibit the carriage of goods by vehicles emitting smoke, and they are ensuring that such vehicles, when spotted, are put in order, Although the bulk of heavy goods traffic in Britain is diesel-engined, research has shown that a well-maintained and properly driven diesel emits no more than an occasional puff of smoke. Additives or suppressors will not, it is thought, abolish this.
To sum up, the Ministry case is therefore likely to be that the existing safeguards, strengthened by the regulations which will be law in 1962, are gradually controlling the nuisance.
if an effective smoke-meter can be added to the police armoury, the position will become very satisfactory, and a minimum of inconvenience to diesel operators will have been caused.
At the moment we are feeling our way toward getting proper tests. By next April, when the debate is held, the Government may have further news on this point.