Opinion

Lee Reynolds: EU has it right on MOTs - and we've got it wrong

A car on a lift at a MOT Centre in Northern Ireland. Picture: Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk
A car on a lift at a MOT Centre in Northern Ireland. Picture: Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk A car on a lift at a MOT Centre in Northern Ireland. Picture: Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk

Are you sitting comfortably?

Good. I agree with the European Union.

Yes, me. Former Vote Leave Director Northern Ireland agrees with the EU. A UK approach in general and how it is delivered in Northern Ireland is excessive bureaucracy. It is a policy area that Covid has created a substantive backlog which cannot be cleared within the present infrastructure limitations, nor would short-term expansion make economic sense.

No, it is not the constitutional, democratic and economic abomination that is the Northern Ireland Protocol. It is the backlog of MOTs created by test cancellations as a Covid measure. It was a system with existing capacity challenges through the continuing rise in car ownership temporarily exacerbated by the broken lift issues.

The EU standard for car testing follows the formula 4-2-2. The first test in year 4 and every 2 years after. Our system is double that with annual testing model. However, do cars really need tested on an annual basis?

No. The system is partly an historical hangover. MOTs were much more necessary in the past. Car standards and build quality have significantly improved in the decades since MOTs began but the mindset of testing has not caught up.

What about safety? The proportion of car accidents caused by mechanical defects is around 2 per cent. By far the greatest danger from a car is and will remain the person sitting behind the wheel. Furthermore, following the global financial collapse, some states in the USA cut back on their testing programmes as a cost saving exercise. There was no jump in accidents caused by mechanical defect. A legitimate fear of change has not been borne out.

The nature of MOT testing, a point in time, means it is not a guarantee of safety. A MOT’d car can be amongst the 2 per cent. It is also likely that amongst that 2 per cent is the proportion of the population who avoid some or all government regulations whether it is licencing, insurance or testing. Whatever system that exists is an irrelevance to them, they ignore it.

So, for once can NI lead within the UK and not wait for the policy hand me downs of somewhere else? Sadly, it is unlikely.

First, there is the ‘Nolan’ test. Does a story have enough of a potential fear factor that a mini frenzy can be whipped up? Probably does.

‘Stormont’s race to the bottom on road safety putting all our lives at risk’ with some helpful talking head providing scary soundbites. One solution to that is to get the media in an uproar about the backlog so they endorse the solution.

Second, is the issue of political leadership from the minister, in this case Nichola Mallon. Leadership is not the word that can be particularly attached to her tenure. In her defence, the Department of Infrastructure is the most difficult one to shape politically. Its time scales stretch well beyond a single assembly term. However, she has avoided big decisions and where headlines are sought it’s been more seen to be doing something than actually achieving something e.g. the Tiger’s Bay bonfire. There are nice smiles and nods, positive press statements distributed, and maybe even a notional budget but with less than a year to an election it all reeks of ‘waiting a minister out’.

Third, is the other ‘l’ word that is the stuff of nightmares for too many a NI Civil Service apparatchik, legislation. The NICS mindset is still shaped by direct rule. Legislation was more once in a generation than once in a term. On top of this is the false idol of our age, all hail ‘Process’. There is no idea that cannot be sucked of all political will nor dragged out so long to make you forget why you started.

Too cynical perhaps but cynicism is the mark of a true believer. Whatever the hurdles, let us believe we can help households save some money, take the pressure off the MOT system and for once, reform excessive bureaucracy.