Now 3million vehicles with lethal faults are on roads
Motorists ignoring safety recalls
NEARLY three million vehicles that have been recalled over potentially lethal faults are still on the road.
The number of cars, vans, lorries and buses that have been flagged up over serious safety fears has seen a dramatic surge, figures show.
But a total of 2,988,543, including 2.4million cars, have not yet been repaired, the Government’s vehicle safety watchdog found. It means one in 13 licensed vehicles are the subject of a safety recall notice that has not been acted on.
The figures come as ministers consider stopping drivers passing their MOT if they do not bring their vehicles in for repair to deal with problems.
Safety recalls are issued by manufacturers when there is a potentially dangerous fault in a particular make or model. They have to send a letter to all affected drivers advising them to book their vehicle in at an approved garage to be fixed free of charge. But officials have become increasingly concerned that huge numbers of drivers are either ignoring recall letters or forgetting to take action.
Labour MP Andy Slaughter, who has campaigned for tougher rules over recalls, said: ‘The figure of three million is staggering and shows that unsafe vehicles driving on our roads is now all too common. This has reached crisis levels.’
The data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealed that over the last five years there have been 1,351 separate safety recalls affecting 9.2million vehicles. But just under a third have yet to be fixed. This includes hundreds of thousands of BMWs, including its best-selling 3-Series, which are in danger of catching on fire or losing power.
Just over three million cars with faulty airbags, made by defunct Japanese firm Takata, have been recalled since 2013 but just under 1.4million have yet to be fixed. These include almost half a million cars made by Honda, including the Accord and Civic models. Car makers have been heavily criticised for being slow to recall vehicles once a fault has been found, with drivers then forced to wait weeks or even months for a garage appointment. But the manufacturers claim drivers are ignoring the letters.
In a bid to tackle the problem, ministers are planning a shakeup of the MOT regimes. Under the plans, affected drivers would be given a warning the first time they take their car in to be tested. But if they have still not got the problem fixed when they take their MOT the following year, their car will receive an automatic fail.
The ‘grace period’ would ensure drivers do not fail their MOT if they had only just received a recall letter. The reform, which would demand new legislation, would also require the agency to link up its MOT and safety recall databases, letting garages see if an individual vehicle has an outstanding safety recall notice.
Mr Slaughter backed the reforms but also raised fears the car industry was ‘passing the buck’ to drivers. ‘It is an excellent idea to enforce recalls or give drivers more incentive to respond to safety recall letters. But we should not be passing the buck to individual motorists when the problems are the fault and responsibility of the manufacturers,’ he said.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: ‘Enhancing the MOT to cover outstanding recalls is a welcome proposal.’
In a statement, the SMMT said safety recalls for cars are ‘stringent and successful’, and more effective than for other goods such as electrical items. It added: ‘The UK vehicle recall process is one of the most robust in the world... and manufacturers are committed to ensuring vehicles remain safe throughout their lifecycle.’
‘It has reached crisis levels ’