'Christmas-tree lights' on lorries
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• The Government is to consider whether lorries should have more lights down their sides.
"A pair of amber lights halfway down the sides of lorries of more than a certain length is already prescribed. Whether we should go further and have the Christmas tree effect that I believe is current in the United States is the next thing we have to consider," said Lord Sandford, Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Environment last week.
He was replying, during a House of Lords debate on road safety, to Lord Strathcarron, who had spoken of "many terrible accidents" caused by lorries leaving transport cafés on dark and rainy nights, and being invisible when pulling out.
During the five-hour discussion there were few references to commercial vehicles beyond some disquiet about fumes and the number of lorries.
Lord Gray suggested that some way should be found of restricting really heavy vehicles to heavy roads. He spoke of the damage done to B class roads and little country lanes by vehicles entirely unsuited to them.
Several peers called for mud flaps on lorries, while the Earl of Cork and Orrery maintained that no lorry should be allowed on the road with its tail-board sticking out behind the rear light. In fog, and on motorways in particular, he said, it should be forbidden to have any load projecting beyond the back lights of a vehicle unless there were extra lights fixed on the back of the load as well.