Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of road accidents in which a blind spot of a vehicle was found to be the primary cause in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning: It is not possible to identify accidents where the blind spot of a vehicle caused an accident.
However, the following table shows, for accidents where “vehicle blind spot” was a reported contributory factor, the number of casualties who were (a) killed and (b) injured in each of the last five years:
Casualties
(a) Killed(b) Injured
Note: Includes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported.
Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce the number of road deaths and injuries attributable to vehicle blind spots.
Mike Penning: European legislation came into effect in January 2007 requiring all new goods vehicles above 3.5 tonnes gross mass to be fitted with an enhanced “wide-angle” mirror on both sides and an enhanced “close proximity” mirror on the passenger side of the cab. For new vehicles over 7.5 tonnes gross mass a “front” mirror above the windscreen is also required. Vehicles where the “close proximity” and “front” mirrors cannot be fitted over 2 metres from the ground are exempt.
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