Industry sees opportunity in Gammie exit
A major overhaul of warrants of fitness may be on the cards following the resignation of New Zealand Transport Agency boss Fergus Gammie.
On Monday Gammie announced he was quitting following a string of damning revelations about the agency’s poor enforcement.
Motor Trade Association (MTA) chief executive Craig Pomare said it was an opportunity to take a close look at outdated warrant of fitness checks.
Inspections had changed little since their introduction in 1937 and needed to reflect the new technology in modern cars.
‘‘Our system just doesn’t cope with that – we check the airbag light comes on, but otherwise we don’t inspect the modern safety features to see they’re working.’’
A review of 850 outstanding agency files by law firm Meredith Connell has led to suspensions of dozens of vehicle inspectors, trucking companies and drivers, and Pomare believes there will be more to come.
Vehicle inspectors only had to do 25 inspections annually to keep their ticket and MTA was keen to see mandatory professional development introduced.
‘‘Accountants and lawyers do it, but they’re not dealing with life and death situations. We think it’s time to to professionalise the industry.’’
Road Transport Association chief executive Dennis Robertson said there had been too much emphasis on building roads at the expense of enforcing safety standards.
He hoped the appointment of a new chief executive meant the agency would return to the basics of identifying and dealing with risks, ‘‘rather than some management structure that looks good on a piece of paper’’.
He said failure to strictly audit vehicle inspectors and trucking fleets meant serious issues such as faulty brakes were going undetected.
‘‘A lot of faith has been put in the system and there hasn’t been a lot of testing as to whether that system is robust or not.’’