Trailer safety debate: legislation ruled out after Freddie Hussey case but minister will meet family

The government has ruled out legislation to improve the safety of towing trailers after a debate in parliament this afternoon.

The debate was launched by the MP for Bristol South Karin Smyth who raised the case of 3-year-old Freddie Hussey who was crushed by a trailer that came loose from a Land Rover last year.

His family had called for tighter controls on trailer safety but despite the government's failure to promise new legislation a government minister in the Department for Transport has agreed to meet them to discuss the case.

Andrew Jones, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, responded positively to a request from the Labour MP to meet with Freddie’s parents, Donna and Scott Hussey, who have campaigned on the issue since their son’s tragic death.

The Minister also set out a number of concessions to the Bristol South MP, pledging:

  • The Driver and Vehicle Safety Agency (DVSA) will review all the advice it publishes about trailer safety

  • The Department for Transport will examine trends and patterns that are picked up at regular DVSA trailer checks in respect of trailer maintenance and use and, at the Minister’s request, will feedback directly to him

  • He will consider how DVSA trailer guidance can be made to reach more people through motorists’ representative groups to help improve driver behaviour in relation to trailers

  • The Department for Transport will study procedures in counterparts from EU countries to learn what lessons there may be from other countries. This is likely to include the value, or otherwise, of trailer roadworthiness tests.

The MP for Bristol South Karin Smyth raised the debate in parliament. Credit: ITV News

Freddie Hussey was killed in January 2014 as he and his mother, Donna, walked home along Parson Street after dropping off Freddie’s older brother at school.

A two tonne trailer became detached from a Land Rover and careered across the pavement, fatally crushing him. His parents, Donna and Scott have been calling for the law to be changed to improve trailer safety.

After the debate Karin Smyth said: