Brakes

Mr. Tebbit
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of road traffic accidents causing death or serious injury is caused by brake system failures; and what proportion of road accident deaths and serious injuries are so caused.

Mr. Horam
I regret that the information requested is not available on a national basis because the resources needed to conduct the necessary in-depth investigations would be disproportionate to the benefits that might be expected. Localised investigations are, however, conducted by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory into the causes of road accidents and I refer the hon. Member to its leaflet LF 392 Issue 2, published in April 1975, which contains some information on the contribution of vehicle defects to road accidents.