asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now introduce legislation to make the wearing of seat belts compulsory.
I regret that there will not be time during this parliamentary Session to legislate for the compulsory wearing of seat belts in Great Britain.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities in road accidents he calculates would have been avoided, had the deceased been wearing a seat belt, during the first six months of 1977, and during each of the previous five years for which records are available.
About 1,000 each year from 1972 to 1976, and about 500 in the first six months of 1977.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many or what percentage of personal injuries he estimates would have been avoided or reduced in their severity, respectively, had the injured parties worn seat belts, in driving accidents which occurred during the first six months of 1977 and during each of the previous five years, respectively.
It is estimated that about 45 per cent. of those unbelted casualties who were seriously injured in road accidents each year would have been uninjured or suffered only slight injury if they had worn available seat belts. It is not possible on current information to estimate the uninjured and reduced injury proportions separately.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much he expects to spend during the years 1977 and 1978, respectively, in campaigns to encourage the voluntary wearing of seat belts.
There have been two publicity campaigns during 1977 to encourage drivers to wear their seat belts. A national campaign using television and posters and costing £355,000 ran from January to March. A separate national poster campaign costing £176,000 ran from August to October. I expect to spend a substantial amount on this subject next year, but the details have not yet been decided.
asked the Secretary of State for Transport in how many cases in which damages for negligence have been awarded arising out of road traffic accidents the damages have been reduced as a result of the contributory negligence of drivers and passengers,
| Amount | Date of increase | Amount of increase | Average annual increase/decrease | |
| £7 10s. 0d. plus 5s. 0d. each hp over 6 hp. | 1st January 1940 | … | ||
| £1 for each 100 cc new registrations only[£7 10s. 0d. minimum]. | 1st January 1947 | … | New basis for calculations cc vice hp. | |
| £10—Registrationsfrom 1st January 1947. | 1st January 1948 | … | New basis—Flat rate superseding rising scale. | |
| £12 10s. | 1st January 1953 | … | £2 10s. 0d. | 5 per cent. increase. |
| £15 | 17th April 1961 | … | £2 10s. 0d. | 2·4 per cent. increase. |
| £17 10s. | 6th April 1965 | … | £2 10s. 0d. | 4 per cent. increase. |
| £25 | 20th March 1968 | … | £7 10s. 0d. | 14·3 per cent. increase. |
| £40 | 15th April 1975 | … | £15 | 8·5 per cent. increase. |
| £50 | 30th March 1977 | … | £10 | 12·5 per cent. increase. |