Jobs go in MoT fiasco
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• Around £14 -15m of business will be lost by the Transport Minister's decision to suspend MoT diesel smoke testing, says the Garage Equipment Association. It has condemned the minister for acting without consultation and on what it considers flimsy evidence— reports of 34 engine failures out of 45,000 tests.
As a result of the suspension the GEA says sales of an estimated 7,000 smoke meters will be lost in 1993, and with them 120 jobs. It warns that problems for its manufacturing and distributing members are being compounded by
many outstanding smoke meter invoices not being paid and some companies are seeking compensation: a move ruled out by Kenneth Clarke.
Some of the distributors and manufacturers will take the smoke meter back if it is unused. However, garages returning their smoke meters the will no longer be allowed to carry out MoTs on diesel vehicles 'weighing less than 3.5 tonnes.
The biggest concern for garages is whether the meter they have bought will be able to carry out the restructured test when it is reintroduced. Software modifications are not a problem, but it is possible that engine temperature and speed will have to be measured and that some meters may not be capable of being modified.
"If that happens there will be a hell of a rumpus in the industry", said one manufacturer.