One in four Irish trucks fail VOSA test

A high percentage of Irish registered trucks and trailers stopped by the Vehicle Operator Standards Agency (VOSA) in Britain fail to meet basic roadside mechanical and driver tests.

More than one in four Irish registered trucks (26.3 per cent) and 45 per cent of all trailers failed basic roadside tests in 2003-04, VOSA spokesman Stephen Hacker confirmed.

Hacker said the failure rates were based on “prohibition”, whereby the lorry is prohibited from continuing on its journey until the failure is rectified.
Driver related issues included failure to keep proper tachograph records, failure by drivers to take breaks and excessive driving hours. Vehicle related failures included brakes and light defects.

“The Irish vehicles would unfortunately be amongst the worst that we find. They are the poorest vehicles and would be top of the league for mechanical faults,” he commented.

Irish registered trucks fared worse than vehicles from Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Britain and France, but were better than trucks from Portugal, Spain, Poland, Italy and Belgium, Hacker confirmed.