VEHICLE INSPECTION SCHEME (Review)

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VEHICLE INSPECTION SCHEME:

(Review): 16.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Transport (a) for the past two years, how many new motor vehicles which had been sent for their first annual vehicle inspection upon reaching the third year of their registration, had failed their inspection; and (b) will his Ministry review the vehicle inspection scheme and require only cars which are five years and older to be sent for annual inspection, instead of the current three years.

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua (for the Minister for Transport): Sir, the periodic vehicle inspection regime was introduced in the early 1980s to ensure that vehicles on our roads meet roadworthiness standards, thus minimising vehicle breakdowns and road accidents. Vehicles which are not roadworthy can be a potential hazard to road users.

Our inspection standards and frequency of inspection are generally comparable with practices adopted in Japan and Europe. For a private car, the first inspection is required when the car reaches three years. Subsequently, it is to be inspected once every two years until the tenth year, after which it must be inspected once a year.

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Despite our well-maintained roads and general improvement in the quality of vehicles and their maintenance, our inspection statistics showed that there are still cars which fail the first inspection. From 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2005 , 7,202 (or more than 6%) of three-year-old cars failed their periodic inspection at the first attempt. These cars mostly fail the wheel alignment and brake tests. This means that they may need more steering effort or longer braking distances, which in turn increases the risk of accidents.

Some vehicle parts, such as tyres and brake pads, are also subject to frequent wear and tear and may be worn out within three years. They could be crucial to vehicle roadworthiness if not checked and replaced. Hence, it is still necessary to inspect cars that are less than five years old.

I would like to assure the Member that the Land Transport Authority regularly reviews the inspection standards, taking into account the latest developments and the best practices in vehicle inspection that are adopted internationally.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State that in view of the decision taken by many car agents today to award three-year warranties for new vehicles purchased, it would appear that motor vehicles would be quite well maintained since it is a free warranty. As such, I am just wondering whether the existing policy will indeed be relevant. Also, taking into consideration that the prices of motor vehicles are coming down drastically, there will be more possibility of car owners actually renewing their cars even before five years are up. So, in view of this, it may actually make sense for us to review the policy.

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Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, the decision by dealers to extend warranties for three years is strictly a commercial decision. The Government, at the same time, has to ensure that cars remain roadworthy, and it would have to fall back on the statistics that are currently borne out through the three-year inspection requirement. As for the trend of cars being replaced on a shorter scale, again, these are personal and commercial decisions made by both the consumers and the dealers. Government's duty again remains that of ensuring that cars are roadworthy.

Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, out of the 6% of cars that failed the inspection, is there a breakdown as to how many percent of that would be commercial vehicles and how many percent would be private vehicles? Because my suspicion is that the private vehicle owners have got a lot of vested interest to ensure that their cars work well, given that this is a big ticket item. Whereas the commercial vehicles may belong to the owners, better utilised and maybe less well maintained but I am not sure. Could we have a breakdown of the figure?

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua: Sir, I do not have the breakdown by commercial and private vehicles, but suffice to say that the trend in terms of just tracking breakdowns by age is actually common across the different vehicle types and, therefore, the need to check remains the same.