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Minister impatient over braking standards delay
Page 64
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66T AM still not satisfied. We know the 1. public is expecting action on such vital matters as improved braking standards for heavy vehicles—and expecting it soon. We should all of us be worried by the time it is taking to get these new standards into operationr This was one of the messages which Mrs. Barbara Castle, Minister of Transport, gave to the vehicle industry when she opened the Commercial Motor Show at Earls Court on Friday.
She said that, like her predecessors, she preferred to get new standards adopted by agreement and consultation; agreed legislation was more likely to be obeyed than that which had been imposed. But this process sometimes took too long: in the case of lorry braking standards the discussions with the industry started about two years ago, the regulations were announced this summer but they would not come into force until January 11968.
She asked whether three years was really needed for such a task, even accepting the problems the industry faced, and she quoted an American legislative timetable involving recent presidential approval for vehicle safety standards, the application of interim legislation by next January 31, and revised standards by January 31 1968.
Mrs. Castle said we did not necessarily have to follow such a hurried timetable, "but I need to be convinced that we cannot move faster than we are doing". If the Ministry could help to speed things up, she would be glad to examine any practical suggestions for this.
The Minister felt that the latest accident figures for drivers and pedestrians were a disgrace to a civilized nation.
Mrs. Castle had earlier praised the industry for its good work in export markets, saying that this year's export figures for buses and lorries already exceeded those for 1965 and that a total of 80:000 vehicles had been sold overseas in the first seven months of 1966. She thought that the industry's response to changing demands had been quick and thorough in the home market too.
She welcomed the "splendid new buses" with better heating and ventilation and rear engines; making bus riding more attractive to the public brought the day nearer when bus operation would cease to be the ugly sister of public transport. She also praised the improvements in lorry cab design, especially as a comfortable driver was more likely to be a safe driver.
One of the most important jobs now facing us, she said, was to make commercial vehicles safer and she welcomed the responsible reaction to the Road Safety Bill which had been shown by the commercial interests involved.