Transport agency failed the public, report finds

The New Zealand Transport Agency’s approach to safety was heavily criticised in an independent report into its oversight of a Northland garage issuing substandard warrants of fitness.

Dargaville Diesel Services (DDS) had warranted a vehicle that crashed into a ditch less than a month later, leaving front-seat passenger William Ball with fatal injuries suffered when his seat belt failed.

Kristy McDonald, QC, was commissioned to investigate the incident and her report describes the agency’s regulatory approach as ‘‘flawed’’.

She said the agency visited DDS 14 times over seven years and found it was not complying with standards on 11 of those visits, including a failure to properly check steering, brakes, lights and seat belts.

A police investigation into the crash found the vehicle concerned had frayed seatbelts and corrosion to a pillar, problems which were highly likely to have been present when it received a warrant from DDS.

McDonald said the case was an example of longstanding systemic failures within the organisation.

Frontline agency staff acted in accordance with instructions from their superiors and management, and the agency’s culture did not support them to take robust enforcement action when it was patently needed.

Law firm Meredith Connell was appointed last September to review 850 outstanding agency compliance files and oversee a revamp of its regulatory work.

A national clampdown on vehicle testing resulted in the suspensions of more than a dozen vehicle inspectors.

As of early January just over 4000 motorists had taken up the agency’s offer of a free warrant inspection and more than half had failed their first retest.