NCT criticised over test

The case of an angry motorist who failed the NCT because the chassis number on his car could not be read has highlighted a weakness in the way data collected by the firm is used.

Every car is checked during its NCT to ensure that the vehicle chassis number, known as the VIN, corresponds to that on the national vehicle file. If the VIN has been damaged or erased or cannot be read, the vehicle will not pass.

This stipulation was introduced to prevent stolen cars with a VIN filed off from passing the NCT.

However, the NCT does not refer details of cars without a VIN to the Garda because the Department of Transport has not stipulated that they should. All data collected by the NCT is owned by the Department of Transport.

Samantha Breen, a spokeswoman for the NCT said that "a huge volume of data is now available to the Department of Transport, but that it is not being used".

She said it would also be possible to keep track of odometer readings in cars coming for the NCT test, as this information was recorded as part of the test.

However, where evidence of "clocking" was found, this information is again not passed on to gardaí.

"Our system records the odometer readings and we take the readings and this is giving us a big bank of data. But at the moment nothing is done with it. It is all the property of the Department of Transport," said Samantha Breen.

In the event that a car presents for an NCT with its VIN either damaged or erased the owner is required to get a certificate from the gardaí stating the car corresponds with the vehicle registered on the national vehicle file.

The case that highlighted this gap in the way data from NCT is used occurred in Ballymun last week, when a six-year-old Ford Escort failed because the VIN was not clearly legible.

The motorist was frustrated because this model of car also has its VIN at the base of the windscreen.

This motorist, who is the rightful owner of the vehicle, which he had imported from Britain, where it previously passed its MOT, is also planning to write to the Department to complain about the lack of clarity on the NCT manual specifying items to be tested.

He says the document is not precise enough in this regard, not least because in many cars the "chassis" number is located not on the chassis, but on the engine block or door pillar.

However, there is one upside for this motorist - because the chassis number is a visual item, there is no fee for a retest.