The Motor Trade Association says Warrant of Fitness failures in the Waikato region have reached an alarming level.
“In February half of the cars presented for a Warrant of Fitness test in the Waikato failed their initial check,” says
MTA’s Sector Manager Repairers Graeme Swan.
“That’s the first time any region has hit the 50 percent fail figure,” Mr Swan said. “It’s a record no-one wants and a
statistic that can’t be ignored.”
Mr Swan says since regional reporting began in March 2016, the first-time failure rate of vehicles being presented for a
WoF in the Waikato has grown from 42 percent to February’s record high of 50 percent.
“Of the 33,813 vehicles inspected for a WoF in the Waikato during February, 16,778 failed the inspection first time with
17,035 vehicles passing.”
MTA had been raising concerns about what was happening in the Waikato for a number of years but had seen little change,
Mr Swan said.
Mr Swan said the failure rate, combined with the high number of road deaths on Waikato roads and the increasing number
of vehicle factors being reported in fatal and serious injury crashes, raised serious concerns about the state of
vehicle maintenance in the region.
“We’re deeply concerned, as should be the people of the Waikato, the Minister of Transport and his officials.
“If they’re committed to the Road to Zero safety strategy these failures simply cannot be ignored any longer.
“It’s time for action. MTA is prepared to help in any way we can.”
Looking at the yearly average WoF failure rates the upward trend of WoF failures in the Waikato in obvious.