NCT, Breakdowns, Accidents and Penalty Points
2 min read June 15th, 2017
Ensuring your car is in full working order is vitally important. Defective motor vehicles have a higher risk of breaking down and being involved in accidents. We took a look at the 2015 National Car Test stats and our own Breakdown stats.
2015 saw an increase in National Car Tests taking place, this seems to have occurred following the announcement in late 2014 by the Minster for Transport that driving a vehicle without a valid NCT cert would become a penalty point offence. 1.49 million cars were tested in 2015, the highest amount to date. Half of the cars tested did, however, fail the NCT according to the Road Safety Authority.
Front suspension had been recognised as the top reason for NCT failures from 2010 – 2015. The reason for this failure is a more than 30% imbalance between left hand and right hand suspension.
Preliminary NCT results from 2016 showed that tyres may have taken the number one slot for failures. Could the overall condition of our roads in Ireland be to blame for failures relating to tyres and suspension? Allianz motoring blog ambassador Dave Humphreys recently commented“Poor road surfaces can lead to increased and often premature wear and tear on vehicles. More severe issues, such as bad potholes, can result in punctures or more serious damage to suspension and wheels, leaving owners facing substantial repair bills.”
NCT Top Performers
Luxury car brands, for the most part, performed well in the NCT with the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini all over the 62% pass mark. Lamborghini was one of the top performers with a 100% pass rate, albeit just 3 were tested.
When it comes to the everyday cars that we all drive some interesting results can be seen. Toyota is the most tested car with 228,651 and a 53% pass rate. Volkswagen is next with 182,727 and a 47% pass rate. Ford is the 3rd most tested at 169,493 and a 46% pass rate. Interestingly brands such as Dacia (81% pass rate), Lexus (57% pass rate), Kia (56% pass rate) and Skoda (54% pass rate) all perform better than the most popular brand.
Good news for those owners and it prompted us to look at the cars that we helped out as part of our Allianz Breakdown Assistance service in 2016.
Breakdowns, Accidents and Penalty Points
In 2016 Allianz provided breakdown assistance to 7,042 cars in total. 6,793 of these cars fell into the NCT bucket needing a test. We provided assistance to 999 Ford’s, 733 Toyota’s, 716 Volkswagen’s and interestingly, zero Skoda’s.
When we look at breakdowns, our own figures have highlighted that from the 7,042 cars which received assistance in 2016, 832 of these cars had expired NCT certificates and 325 of these cars had no NCT at all. In effect this means that 12% of the cars assisted in 2016 that needed an NCT were being driven without a valid National Car Test Certificate.
Car owners of vehicles over 3 years old, driving without a valid NCT are breaking the law. If these cars are defective, drivers increase the potential risk of being involved in accidents - involving themselves and others and increase the potential for unwelcomed breakdowns. Driving without a valid NCT also increases the risk of receiving penalty points, which has the potential to adversely impact insurance premiums.
Conclusion
Keeping your vehicle in full working order is vital, make sure your NCT is up to date and avoid increased risk of breakdowns, accidents and penalty points.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not purport to provide legal advice or other professional advice. Allianz accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information provided or for any losses that may arise from any reliance upon the information contained in this article.
Information correct at June 2017. This blog will not be updated or edited so the information may become outdated.
