10th October 2009

Roadside enforcement officers in Northern Ireland have found that almost 90% of commercial vehicles stopped at random last year were unroadworthy.

Officers from the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) carried out the checks and discovered that 30 out of 34 vehicles failed to meet standards.

Vehicles in Ballymena and Larne, Co Antrim, and Newry, Co Down, were stopped on four occasions.

Neil Greig, director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ Motoring Trust, said a failure rate of 88% was very worrying because commercial vehicle operators were supposed to be licensed and checked in a much more rigorous way than private drivers.

He said: "PSNI and DVA must undertake more roadside checks because it would appear that far too many large vehicle users are allowing their vehicles to go on the road in a potentially dangerous state.

"Until pass rates at these roadside checks are much higher they should continue and cover a wider range of routes. Commercial operators who consistently flout standards should lose their licence to trade."

The special tests took place involving the police and of the vehicles examined, 11 were put off the road immediately for serious mechanical defects.

Copyright © Press Association 2009

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