UK 'actively considering' 19 new driving laws to match EU regulations
Labour is "actively considering" making UK driving laws match European Union regulations despite Brexit. The Labour Party government is "actively considering" aligning more vehicle regulations with the EU.
Speaking in the House of Lords, Transport Minister Lord Hendy said that the Government is reviewing which of the 19 new vehicle safety technologies mandated by the EU would be appropriate for implementation in the UK.
"This is under really active consideration at the moment," Hendy told peers during a parliamentary session. Hendy explained this creates a "market incentive for manufacturers to develop increasingly safer vehicles."
READ MORE Eight counties in England face waking up to snow next week in 48-hour blizzard
Baroness Kramer referenced figures showing "78 road users and 82 vulnerable road users" had been killed in incidents involving heavy goods vehicles. "People are dying on the roads daily," the Liberal Democrats peer warned.
Conservative peer Lord Kirkhope raised concerns about foreign drivers who "seem to be involved in quite a lot of the accidents" with HGVs. "They're much more sophisticated in targeting enforcement, including making sure that those who drive commercial vehicles from other countries on our roads are consistent to the same standard of safety as our vehicles," Hendy said.
Mr Hendy said: "I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I have those statistics somewhere and I have up-to-date ones. I will send them to her. Many of the 19 new vehicle technologies are already being applied, because the commercial vehicle industry is international. I also referred to this being under really active consideration, which means that shortly we will be able to say which of the 19 technologies this Government propose to introduce. When we do, that will be conclusive.
He said: "The safety requirements that the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, asked me about are those applicable to new vehicles. The standards of safety that apply to all vehicles on the UK’s roads are the latest standards that applied at the time at which they were manufactured, of course, improved by the regular testing system.
"There are reasons why historic vehicles cannot always comply with modern standards. There is a silver lining in that, which is that most very ancient vehicles cannot go very fast. My experience of the vehicle testing regime is that it is rigorous but respectful of the age of vehicles and their original manufacturing condition."
Facebook Conversations