Brakes

Mr. Greville Janner
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many roadside spot checks have been carried out during each of the past 24 months on defective brakes; what are the nature of such tests; and what results and conclusions he has drawn therefrom.

Dr. Gilbert
The figures are available only on a quarterly basis as follows: ----------------
|Quarter Ending|
----------------
|December 1973 |
----------------
|March 1974    |
----------------
|June 1974     |
----------------
|September 1974|
----------------
|December 1974 |
----------------
|March 1975    |
----------------
|June 1975     |
----------------
|September 1975|
----------------
The percentage of defective vehicles indicated by these statistics must be viewed with caution because there is a natural tendency to pick out the apparently bad vehicles for testing.Roadside spot checks entail a detailed inspection of the vehicle which includes a test of the brake performance using a decelerometer. More tests take place in the summer months when the weather conditions are less likely to interfere with the test programme. Defective lorries are issued with prohibition notices; defects  on private vehicles are notified to the driver.The number of vehicles warranting prohibition notices points to the need for continued vigilance by owners, drivers and examiners in order to ensure the road-worthiness of all vehicles.