Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Discretion on MOT concerns’
PSNI to show leniency for exemptions
THE PSNI has said officers are being “encouraged to exercise discretion” regarding MOT exemptions.
It comes after issues with hydraulic lifts caused chaos in test centres across Northern Ireland.
A PSNI spokesman said: “The DVA is working to contact all owners of fouryear-old cars to book them for MOT tests in the coming days.
“Priority is being given to those with MOTS that have expired or expire today, so motorists can tax their vehicles.
“Where an officer detects a vehicle without tax and it is outside of the 14 day grace period provided in the legislation, a referral is made to the DVLA.
“Given these exceptional circumstances where PSNI detects a vehicle without a valid MOT certificate, providing the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition, officers would be encouraged to exercise discretion.”
Infrastructure
Minister Nichola Mallon said she is “doing everything I can” to minimise disruption.
Two new lifts, which were ordered prior to the issue becoming public, will be in operation within the next few days.
One is in Belfast and the other in Newbuildings, Derry.
The SDLP MLA said: “I have taken a stranded approach to this problem as soon as I became aware of it. The first was to prioritise the safety of DVA staff and customers.
“The second was to do everything that I can within the legislation to minimise disruption to customers and motorists.
“That’s why I’ve issued the exemptions, maximised the compensation – that’s why I’m doing everything I can to maximise capacity that’s currently within our MOT centres.
“The third strand is about getting business back as quickly and as safely as possible in our MOT centres and then the other element is understanding exactly what happened here.”