Wally Cracknell, chairman of the United Roadworthy Association: "Our roadworthy industry has degenerated to a level where dishonesty is rewarded and where the incompetent and the uncaring prosper. Lack of effective law enforcement has helped the heavy trucking industry slide into a sewer of disrepair."

The testing of all motor vehicles was privatised some ten years ago. Has this proved to be a good or a bad move? In this article, Wally Cracknell, chairman of the United Roadworthy Association, examines the progress made over the past ten years and spells out - in no uncertain terms - that although there have been positive changes, there are unfortunately many negatives.

On the positive side, it is evident that private testing stations are more user friendly and are prepared to go the extra mile. It is no longer necessary to stand in endless queues long before daybreak to have a vehicle tested. It is also no longer necessary to bear the wrath of bad attitudes, general bungling and incompetence.

A special breed of people used to man the old provincial test stations and were synonymous with other government bastions. Regrettably, they are still to be found lurking about, badly disguised as bureaucrats. The most positive aspect of privatisation has been increased employment opportunities and other spin-off industries that have emerged.

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) was appointed by the National Department of Transport to oversee the implementation and adherence to a specific national vehicle testing standard. In principle this was a positive strategy. A national standard has, indeed, been formulated. In fact, the SABS recently launched this standard - SABS 047 - at a rather lackluster breakfast presentation at the Pretoria Sheraton.

The SABS, however, forgot to mention that if it were not for input from many private testing stations, trucking associations and provincial traffic training colleges, the SABS 047 would not ever have materialised.

Toothless wonder
The SABS has been at the forefront of criticism because of its lack of application to the task at hand. It has proved to be a 'toothless wonder' in that although it is the protector of the standard, it has not been given the authority to enforce the standard. And herein lies the crux to the roadworthy testing industry demise in terms of honesty and integrity.

The proliferation of testing stations, totally unrelated to market demand, has caused an erosion of profitability and consequent erosion of standards. There are testing stations that will go that extra mile to ensure they get the business. This means vehicles will be examined at places other than the test station and in some proven cases, not ever examined.

Quality of testing becomes a moot point and it is known that many fleet-owners and operators seek out those stations that do not have highly trained or technically competent vehicle examiners.

It is mind boggling to know that the minimum qualification for a vehicle examiner is a grade 10 equivalent and heavy duty drivers licence. Prior training or schooling within the auto or trucking industry is not a requirement. A protracted six week stint at a traffic training college arms one with a certificate that can hold precedent over a fully qualified journeyman on the testing station floor.

Dishonesty is rewarded
Our roadworthy industry has degenerated to a level where dishonesty is rewarded and where the incompetent and the uncaring prosper. Lack of effective law enforcement has helped the heavy trucking industry slide into a sewer of disrepair.

The law requires that heavy commercial rigs be presented for testing annually. It used to be every six months. In spite of protestations from truckers, associations and private testing stations, the law stays unmoved.

 

This sorry excuse of a truck held up traffic at a busy robot intersection in Wadeville while the driver's assistant pushed it out the way. There are many such scrap heaps riding our roads which makes one wonder about the wisdom of having extended the Certificate of Fitness test from six to 12 months. This truck is an accident waiting to happen.

The frightening fact is that in many instances, preventative maintenance has been extended or neglected for as much as 10 or 11 months. It has been revealed that many truckers are prepared to pay a vehicle examiner as much as R5 000 to issue a Certificate of Fitness rather than meet a repair bill in excess R50 000 or R60 000!

The most confusing anomaly, however, is the fact that the Roadworthy Certificate is valid for six months. The 'ignoranus' that penned this amendment to the Road Traffic Act should never be forgiven. (Ignoranus is a new word which I leave to your imagination rather than the Oxford Dictionary to work out).

By extending the validation beyond 21 days, the unscrupulous have exploited this with tactics ranging from increasing the size of the stolen vehicle market ten-fold to defrauding motor licencing - and the country - of revenue. They are also defrauding the public. Let me highlight an example.

Shocking state
An actual case I experienced was where, six weeks after we passed a vehicle, I got a phone call from the AA asking how we could ever have issued a roadworthy certificate for the vehicle. It had just been sold to a woman and was in a shocking state.

I inspected the vehicle and saw that the front suspension was shot. I also noticed that the left McPherson strut had been replaced with an old component. I got in a stress expert from a panelbeater and he confirmed my suspicion that the vehicle has been in an accident. The story eventually came out that the dealer principle had used the car two days after we had passed it, had hit an uncovered manhole and ripped out the front suspension. He replaced it with parts bought from a scrap yard and sold it.

This is what is happening since someone, in his or her infinite wisdom, decided to extend the validation period from 21 days to six months. It stands in no-one's interest and to no-one's advantage - bar the unscrupulous.

Monstrous burden
Another monstrous burden is the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS). This computer system was obsolete before it was installed and has cost the nation untold millions. The system has been fraught with error and in spite of offers to assist to rectify obvious data capture errors, the roadworthy industry has been sidelined.

Private testing stations have been deprived of the use of the system and have to resort to manually generating certificates of roadworthy and triplicating unnecessary reams of paper work. Any correction to a chassis or engine number can only be effected by the SAPS.

This function, police clearance, appears to be manned by people especially trained in the art of incompetence, obfuscation and tardiness. One would think that the police would stick to their knitting and leave data capture and computers to those who know how. Rather capture the perpetrators and ease the load for themselves.

The good news is that most of the above is the exception rather than the rule. There are those truckers and testing stations that are extremely honourable and will not allow either industry to slide to this level. Strong support is always forthcoming from the RFA, IRTE and the URA nationally. Individuals within these erstwhile organisations have challenged the bureaucrats to improve and will not rest until both the trucking and testing industries met their own exacting standards.

The United Roadworthy Association (URA) has initiated a move to become the 14th member within the newly invigorated Retail Motor Industry organisation (RMI). We believe this new liaison will aid the restoration of controlled vehicle testing and that integrity will prevail.

Our common objective - that of the trucking industry and private testers - will be to reduce the carnage on our roads and make our roads safe to drive on. With the help of FleetWatch, we will overcome our shortcomings and restore pride to a very essential industry.