THE government is considering introducing MoT-style tests for cars.
The Department of Infrastructure says the primary objective for the tests would be to reduce the risk of road traffic incidents.
Currently there are 70,000 vehicles on the island’s roads.
Of these, 2,000 are commercial vehicles such as buses, taxis and HGVs, which are already required to undertake an annual test. The remaining vehicles are mostly used on a private basis and are only tested if they are more than three years old when they are first registered on the island and then only the once.
The department says that older vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents.
In the island the department examines vehicles that have been involved in fatal road traffic incidents. It says 10 per cent of them appear to have a mechanical cause or a mechanical factor contributing to the incident.
At present the department works with the police on roadside checks. Bald tyres, faulty lights and other obvious issues are often found, however such vehicles may have underlying defects with their brakes or steering which are not readily observable or tested during roadside checks.
The department is seeking the public’s views about introducing testing.
A vehicle that has been properly maintained should have no difficulty in passing a roadworthiness test, it says.
The MoT (Ministry of Transport) test was introduced in the UK in 1960. As time went on more and more things were included in the test. The fee for a car or light van there is £54.85. For a motorcycle it’s £29.65.
{http://www.gov.im/transport/consultations.gov?menuid=16916&type=current|Take part in the survey}
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