Some recent posts about the driving skills (or lack therof) in Canberrans mentioned the increasing number of cars about town with blown headlights or brake/tail lights. I also notice that about 1 in every 10 cars in your average carpark have tyres that are marginal for tread at best or downright bald – especially on the outer edges. Then at least once every day I’ll see some smokey old dunger blasting along leaving a smoke haze that your average reggae audience could only dream of. These are all blindingly obvious things that just don’t seem to get picked up. What about dodgy brakes and stuffed steering components?
Given there is insufficient police numbers to – well – police these laws, and I havn’t seen any operation or evidence of the supposed Random Vehicle Inspections since about 2001, is there a need to re-introduce annual vehicle inspections?
Bring back annual vehicle inspections?
- It might make me feel better about my neighbour's crap-box - that's worth inconveniencing the whole city for.(13%, 27 Votes)
- No thank you(54%, 113 Votes)
- Yes please(33%, 69 Votes)
Total Voters: 209
Loading ...I know it’s much more convenient for us (and the Government) to simply pay up our rego fee without having to dick about with inspections, getting stuff fixed that doesn’t make the car any cheaper to run and lining up at a Shopfont with the inspection paper. However, NSW – which has annual inspections (now for cars over 5yo only) – is introducing an electronic pink slip inspection report that reports online from the inspector to the RTA, which should address part of that problem.
At the moment, in theory, you could buy a new car and not have it inspected to make sure it was safe as long as you owned it – 10, 20 years or more. Sure, you’d probably replace the tyres when sparks came off them in corners and the brakes when the grinding metal sound got too loud – or turn up the stereo – but otherwise, nada. Service places could suggest replacements but I’ve seen people just pay for the oil change, grab the keys and drive off – after throwing the snotty, screaming fruit of their loins in the back seat. Bear in mind too that many owners of budget new cars – Hyundais, Kias, current model Barinas etc – just adopt a disposable product attitude to their car and it never goes in for a service.
I am not advocating the old “turn up to a Govt inspection station and wait in line for half a day before some old git who’s cranky cause the last car like yours dripped oil on this head fails your car because the number plate is 0.05mm below the Prescribed Standard” days. There are heaps of places which are Authorised Inspection Stations these days around town who do inspections for interstate transfers so that shouldn’t be a problem. Yes, you’ll still have a percentage of cars passed through that shouldn’t be on the nod and a wink of a mate. And you’ll still have a number of people driving around unregistered and not giving a stuff. But the overall numbers of roadworthy cars should improve – shouldn’t it? And maybe – just maybe – even one fatal accident due to a vehicle fault could be prevented?
