Clause 10 - Accident regulations
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
10:00 am
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Vale of York, Conservative)
I hope to raise the matter at a later stage of this Bill, or under another Bill, which I believe will come to the Floor of the House at the end of this month. I am grateful to you for that helpful guidance, Mr. Hurst.
Knowing the spirit of generosity that the Under-Secretary demonstrates on these occasions, I hope that he will acknowledge that amendment No. 16 is a practical proposal. We have benefited from drawing on reports in connection with road accidents, and such reports could be used as the model for accident reports relating to the railways. When accident reports are drafted under regulations under the clause, will the Government, rather than just establishing the root cause and, under the previous clause, giving directions to the train operating company, investigate the possibility of examining the characteristics of a particular length of track, the speed at which the train was going and other factors relating to the accident? That would enable us to learn from those reports. I have explained the thinking behind the amendment and I hope that the Under-Secretary will see that it has merit.