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NCT failure rate twice NI
equivalent
16.09.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
THE NCT test has come in for strong criticism from
Donegal North East TD Charlie McConalogue after its
annual report revealed that just under half (48%) of
the vehicles tested in Co Donegal fail.
A total of 30,782 tests were conducted in Donegal in
2010, with 16,028 passes (52%), although both
Letterkenny and Carn recorded below average pass
rates.
Of the 3,378 tests conducted at the Carndonagh NCT
centre just 1,650 passed (49%) with 10 cars
recording a ‘dangerous fail’.
There were 15,620 tests at the Letterkenny NCT
centre where 7,570 passed (49%) with 50 cars
recording a dangerous fail.
In Derrybeg the pass rate is 49.6%, while at 61.3%
Donegal Town has the highest pass rate of the 45 NCT
centres in the country.
The overall pass rate for Donegal was 52%, the same
as the national average.
By contrast, the equivalent MOT test in the North
has a 22% failure rate. And that is despite the fact
that the exact same equipment is used in conducting
tests on both sides of the border.
“The same rationale underpins both the NCT and MOT –
it’s to ensure cars are safe to use the roads and
dangerous cars are taken off the roads – and I don’t
see why the pass and fail rates should be so
different between North and South,” Deputy
McConalogue said.
“The high failure rate in the NCT in comparison to
the MOT suggests that there are issues to be
assessed by the authorities here.”
“I will write to the Minister to see if the
discrepancies between the tests in the Republic and
the North can be identified and to see if the NCT
can be amended so that people have to make fewer
trips to have their vehicles retested. |
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Burnfoot garage owner Denis Donaghey
says there are more elements in the NCT than the MOT
in the North. |
Deputy McConalogue
emphasised that the NCT is an important element in
ensuring the safety of road users, but acknowledges
that many people see the high failure rate and the
subsequent requirement for retests as a money making
exercise.
“The NCT is a good thing, and we must ensure that
vehicles using our roads are roadworthy, but there’s
a widely held feeling that many cars fail the NCT
for relatively minor faults.”
The NCT costs €50 for a family vehicle, with retests
costing an additional €28. The North’s MOT costs
£30.50 (€35), with retests costing £18.50 (€21).
Donaghey’s garage in Burnfoot prepares cars ahead of
the NCT and MOT tests and has installed the
specialised equipment that both tests use.
Proprietor Denis Donaghey says that there are more
elements to the NCT, and with more aspects being
tested the chance of failing increases.
“For example, the emissions test is more stringent
in the NCT,” Mr Donaghey says. “In the MOT,
emissions are only tested when the car is ticking
over and most vehicles will comfortably pass that,
whereas the NCT requires the engine to be revved up
and that is more likely cause an emissions fail.
And while a car will fail the NCT if its hubcaps
have not been removed, that doesn’t apply in the
North. |
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