THE DEPARTMENT of Transport has written to 261 motorists, warning that their cars have previously been classified as write-offs and they must take "urgent action" to have the vehicles checked for roadworthiness.
The department said it had cross-checked details on 5,429 write-offs received from insurance company Hibernian against the official State register and found that 261 vehicles were back on the road, having been reregistered by new owners or retaxed. Some of the vehicles passed the National Car Test (NCT), the department said.
A spokeswoman for the department said it decided to act immediately on its findings and write to the 261 owners yesterday, telling them to get their vehicles checked to see if they have been repaired properly and are roadworthy. "Many of these people will not be aware their vehicle is potentially unsafe," she said.
Minster for Transport Noel Dempsey urged "all of those who receive this letter to waste no time in having their vehicle examined by a qualified automotive engineer. It could save a life - maybe their own."
He said he was concerned when he "learned of the possibility that some previously written-off vehicles may be making their way back on to our roads".
There is no complete register of written-off cars. Insurers are not obliged to make their write-off records available, but have recently agreed to hand over the data on a voluntary basis.
Hibernian controls 25 per cent of the motor insurance market and, late last year, provided details on 5,429 vehicles it had registered as written-off since 2002.
The spokeswoman for the department said it was due to receive similar information from other insurers shortly and would act the same way.
Mr Dempsey said that, "thanks to information supplied", the 261 owners were being informed of the department's concerns.
Hibernian handed over the information following an investigation last year, led by the Road Safety Authority, which concluded cars classified as write-offs were being repaired and returned to the roads because there was no obligatory notification process by which write-offs could be reported.
As a result of the investigation, the Irish Insurance Federation and the insurance companies have agreed to hand over their records on write-offs.
Mr Dempsey said "a tracking system" had since been put in place to ensure write-offs would be reported: "If necessary, I am prepared to legislate to compel insurance companies to supply this information; however, at this stage, I am confident insurance companies will voluntarily make this information available on a systematic basis."
The department's findings confirm an earlier examination of write-offs by a car-checking company, Cartell.ie, which found loopholes in the system allowed write-offs to be repaired and returned to the roads.