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MOTs pass
Page 10
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brake tests AN INVESTIGATION into the reliability of official brake testing equipment has ruled out the possibility that some trucks fail their MoT tests for non-existent defects.
The research follows numerous complaints from dealers that vehicles would pass roller brake tests in their own workshops only to fail the same test at sites run by VOSA (the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) (CM 18 March).
A joint investigation between VOSA and the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) found that vehicles passing the test at one site did so at the other as well.
However the organisations are to publish a best-practice guide explaining how to prepare trucks for brake tests after it emerged that certain aspects of brake tester specification, procedures and practices used by RMI members needed to be reviewed.
Roger Trubridge, VOS A's scheme manager for HGV testing, says that to avoid any disputes operators should "always aim to achieve a service brake efficiency well above the legally required minimum of 50%".
A joint statement from the organisations says some minor inconsistencies were found at VOSA sites but these are being addressed and none would have resulted in incorrect failures.
Frank Parr, director of the Harris Group, which has five truck dealerships in the South-East says the investigation was done with a fairly small sample over a limited period: "I feel there is still a possibility of the problems recurring although I accept that is not the case in the samples they took."
The best-practice guide will be available later this year from the RM1. VOSA test stations and on the VOSA website. To see it go to www.vosa.gov.uk.