THE SURPRISE introduction of new penalty point offences for motorists has thrown the National Car Test (NCT) system into chaos.
Hundreds of worried motorists attempted to contact the NCT centre in Tallaght yesterday after Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey announced over the weekend that failing to keep your NCT up to date would incur penalty points from next month.
However, the phone lines to the centre remained engaged all day and the website crashed during the afternoon. A member of staff who contacted The Irish Timesclaimed they had been told to leave phones off the hook after a deluge of calls early yesterday.
Attempts to reach SGS Ireland, which carries out the NCT tests for the Road Safety Authority (RSA), were unsuccessful.
It is a motorist’s responsibility to ensure that a car’s NCT certification is up to date. SGS has told the authority that, for seasonal reasons, it is several weeks late in sending out reminders but that this is “not a problem”.
All cars at least four years old must be tested, and retested thereafter at two-yearly intervals.
The RSA, which was taken unawares by the Minister’s announcement, said it fielded large numbers of calls yesterday from motorists concerned about the five new offences being added.
A spokesman said the new rules around NCTs in particular had caused confusion. He stressed none of the five offences was new and none would be imposed by gardaí at the roadside. Penalty points would only be imposed, along with a fine, in cases where a motorist was convicted in court.
From May 1st, drivers will be issued with five penalty points when convicted of driving faulty vehicles, driving vehicles without a certificate of road worthiness and for failing to have an up-to-date NCT certificate. Motorists who fail to address defects identified by the NCT will receive three penalty points if convicted in court.
Truck drivers who strike overhead bridges, an event which occurred 720 times between 2001 and 2006, will get three points.
Conor Faughnan of AA Roadwatch also said the announcement had caused widespread confusion.
Up to 2003, he pointed out, motorists required a valid NCT certificate before they could renew motor tax but this link was broken after a strike at test centres.
Mr Faughnan called on Spanish company Applus+, which takes over testing next year after winning a 10-year contract from the RSA, to reinstate the link between motor tax and the NCT, and to ensure reminders are sent to all motorists whose cars need to be tested.