More than one in four cars failed road worthiness examinations during a trial run of the new National Car Test, yesterday. More than 480 cars were examined as part of a dry run of the test, which comes into operation next January for all cars over eight years old.
"In France, there was a 25 per cent failure rate, and the failure rate here is going to be as high, if not slightly higher", said Mr Richard Hoque, general manager of National Car Testing Service. A clearer picture of the condition of Irish cars will emerge when the mock tests being carried out in Athlone are completed at the end of this month.
The single largest categories for car failures were problems with headlights, emissions and brakes, Mr Hoque said. However, he believed that the failure rate would decrease when the real tests began, since many motorists are expected to have their cars serviced before being tested.
The 480 vehicles being tested in Athlone were brought in voluntarily by their owners in response to a public appeal by the testing service, which has been awarded the contract to operate the road worthiness tests for the next 10 years.
Other trial tests will begin in Kells, Co Meath, next month, and in Fonthill, Co Dublin, in October and November.
The company aims to test 560,000 vehicles next year at 43 centres across the State. During 2001 it will test all cars six years old and over. From 2002 onwards all four-year-old cars and eligible older cars will be tested. Vehicles which pass the test will have to undergo repeat tests every two years.
It will be an offence to drive a car which is liable for testing in a public place without displaying a National Car Testing Service disc on the windscreen. Offenders will face fines of up to £350. Local authorities will refuse to tax eligible cars which do not have testing certificates.
Mr Hoque advised motorists to have their cars serviced before submitting them for testing. The initial test will cost £35 and there will be a £19.80 charge for subsequent tests, if required.
Speaking at the official opening of the first testing centre in Athlone yesterday, the Minister of State for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Robert Molloy, said the test represented an important strand in the Government's road safety strategy. "However, the full safety benefit of the NCT can only be realised in an overall framework of responsible behaviour by road-users. This means not only making sure that cars are safe to drive, but also driving them safely."
The network of testing centres meant that no car owner would have to travel more than 30 miles for the mandatory testing, the Mi nister said. The company is providing three mobile testing centres which will visit less-populated parts of the State to carry out vehicle examinations.
The Department of the Environment and Local Government has produced a car test manual, priced £5, which provides details of the test and the standards required.