Rule changes ‘will risk safety’
Critics of proposed changes to road rules say transport company operators should not inspect their own vehicles for roadworthiness, but licensing changes could put that power in their hands.
A Government decision on possible changes to the private car Warrant of Fitness (WoF) and commercial vehicle Certificate of Fitness (CoF) regimes is expected to be made public in the next two months.
Options include lengthening the amount of time between compulsory fitness checks and, importantly for commercial vehicles and heavy trucks, opening up the accreditation process for CoF inspections to anyone.
Currently CoFs can only be issued by Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ), Vehicle Inspection New Zealand (VINZ) and the Automobile Association (AA), none of which are permitted to also provide repair services.
Chief executive of VTNZ Mike Walsh said the three inspection companies’ independence was a core principle of the commercial road safety regime and helped to protect inspectors from commercial pressures.
Inspectors who were either on the payroll of the trucking company they were inspecting, or were only interested in declining CoF licences to inflate subsequent repair bills, could flourish under the new rules, he said.
Mr Walsh said abolishing the prohibition on inspectors doubling as repairers would mean VTNZ would have to cut jobs, locations and services.
The Ministry of Transport said as many as 2000 people could lose employment with the changes to both WoF and CoF rules.
‘‘It’s easy to dismiss our comments as self-interest or even scaremongering,’’ said Mr Walsh, whose company carries out 86 per cent of all heavy vehicle safety inspections each year.
‘‘But VTNZ was appointed by the New Zealand Transport Agency to provide a nationwide service that ensures trucks are safe.’’
Safety could be compromised by inhouse or contracted inspectors who felt pressure from their bosses to get trucks back out on the road and earning money.
An auditing and compliance programme had been suggested as an answer to the problem, but Mr Walsh said the cost of such a programme had not been factored into the Government’s calculations.
‘‘We know only too well what happens without proper audit and compliance in self-regulated industries, [just] ask anyone with a leaky home,’’ he said.
‘‘Commercial vehicle inspections are a lot tougher than a car WoF and cover structural elements, towing connections and certification. Brakes are also tested under loads that simulate driving conditions.
‘‘These big, heavy rigs can do far more damage to the occupants or others on the road if the steering or brakes fail, than a regular family car.’’