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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the amendment moved by my noble friend on the Front Bench to which my name is added. I understand the mischief that the Minister seeks to remedy; that is, predominantly youngsters who drive wrecks of cars. They need to be deterred from doing that. The first time that they get convicted of using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, their legal advisers, and certainly the court, will point out to them that if they do it again, they will be disqualified. That is the mischief that the Minister is targeting. But I do not think that he intends to target a professional lorry driver—the most likely—or a travelling salesman who inadvertently finds out that he has used a vehicle in a dangerous condition. Yes, it may be that the employer should have known that the vehicle was dangerous and the driver may not know, but there are some things you can do when using a vehicle in a dangerous condition that the driver would not be aware of. I do not believe that the Minister wants inadvertently to ban from driving a professional lorry driver. My noble friend’s amendment would deal with that, while the Minister would still be able to meet his objective of dealing with the mischief of a youngster driving around in a wreck of a car. No one is employed to drive a wreck; employed drivers normally use vehicles in a much better condition. I urge the Minister to consider this point very carefully.