Robert Taylor, managing director of RAC Ireland, gives us an insight into the poor state of our cars and what motorists need from next week's budget
In a recent RAC car check of over 400 cars in the greater Dublin area, RAC inspectors were astonished at the findings.
Among some of the horror stories was one car which had its steering arm held together with a vice grip. Even more astonishing was that the driver didn't seem to think there was anything wrong.
Motorists volunteered for a 26-point examination on their cars by qualified mechanics from RAC Ireland patrol units.
The results showed that the majority of cars on our roads have mechanical faults relating to safety components such as tyres, lights and brakes.
Over 60 per cent of cars failed the check on at least one criterion. One quarter of all cars were found to be on faulty tyres - in most cases worn below the legal tread depth. One in six cars required attention to lights, typically rear light bulbs, while in 14 per cent of cases wipers and washers were not functioning properly. Worryingly, more than one in 10 cars exhibited brake-related faults, stretching from brake pads and fluid to handbrakes.
This check shows we cannot rely on the National Car Test to ensure cars on our roads are roadworthy. Indeed, 50 per cent of newer cars, outside the remit of the test, were found to be faulty. One consistent problem inspectors found were motorists using plastic vice grips on their wheels and then finding it impossible to remove them.
The overall picture may be even worse since this was a voluntary check by the RAC, likely to appeal to the more conscientious motorist. From second-hand cars to new car sales, it is a common fallacy that increases in sales give rise to more cars on the road and greater congestion. Car ownership increases when young adults purchase a car. The latter almost invariably purchase used and not new cars, and their greatest expense is insurance and not the price of a new car.
New cars on the other hand are normally purchased by existing car owners as replacements for their current vehicles.
Car sales have declined quite significantly from 2000, with a further fall predicted for the year 2002.
With the combination of unfavourable economic circumstances, the market is fragile and could decline sharply in 2003. The new car market is at a critical juncture for a number of reasons: low consumer confidence, reduced growth in income and employment and Irish car prices may be forced up by EU initiatives.
There is a real danger that if action is not taken to boost the confidence of car purchasers, there will be a double negative impact on the economy - car sales will decline with consequent impacts on employment and tax revenue.
It is therefore crucial that the 2003 budget should contain positive measures to boost consumer confidence to sustain new car sales at the current level.
In the pre-budget submission from the official lobby for the motor industry, the Society of the Irish Motoring Industry (SIMI), it has proposed that the high costs of servicing and maintaining vehicles should be helped with a VAT rate on repairs being retained at 12.5 per cent and VRT should be deducted from the value of a car when calculating benefit-in-kind tax liabilities.
These measures should help motorists to contribute to the upkeep and safety of their vehicles.
The Irish motor industry is changing. There has been increased intervention from the Minister for Transport on a number of issues including traffic management, a planned new driving permit for learner drivers, the introduction of penalty points and a realisation that in order to cut road deaths, proper driving training is needed to increase safer driving on our roads.
This in particular is welcomed by the RAC School of Motoring which aims to set new standards in driving tuition in Ireland. Recent figures show that an astonishing 23 per cent of motorists are driving with a provisional licence. This cannot be allowed to continue, and the Government must act rapidly to change legislation.
An awareness has to be created by the Government that the state and upkeep of our roads and our vehicles needs to be taken seriously.
This can only be done with reduced costs on VRT, taxation and insurance to enable motorists to adhere to the law.