Written question asked by Christopher Chope (Conservative) on Monday, 14 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 March 2005. It was answered by David Jamieson (Labour) on Thursday, 17 March 2005 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Dept for Transport

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the policy of the Government is in relation to the legality of (a) fitting and (b) using television equipment in cars which operate while a vehicle is stationary at traffic lights.

Answer: Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the policy of the Government is in relation to the legality of (a) fitting and (b) using television equipment in cars which operate while a vehicle is stationary at traffic lights. [222347] Mr. Jamieson: It is legal to fit television equipment in a motor vehicle. However, if the screen of the television can be seen by the driver then it is only lawful to display information about the state of the vehicle, or about the location of the vehicle and the road which it is on, or information to assist the driver to see the road adjacent to the vehicle, or to assist the driver to reach his destination. It is unlawful for the driver to watch screens for entertainment purposes (e.g. TV programmes or DVDs) at any time while driving, including when stopped at traffic lights.

Secondary information