MTA calls for big spend on vehicle maintenance

The Motor Trade Association (MTA) wants a substantial chunk of government’s $3 billion pledge to improve road safety to be spent on making sure vehicles are well maintained.

While the organisation welcomes the move, which is part of the government’s plans to spend $54b on transport over the next decade, it warns our roads will never be safe unless people take better care of their cars.

Greig Epps, MTA’s advocacy and strategy manager, says a significant portion of the money earmarked for road safety issues and implementing the Road to Zero strategy must go into ensuring the nation’s 3.9 million passenger vehicles are well-maintained.

“We were particularly pleased to see that safer vehicles are a key component of the draft strategy,” he adds. “What’s required now is funding to make that a reality.”

Epps, pictured above, says about half of vehicle owners surveyed by the MTA admitted not having done anything to maintain their vehicle since their last warrant of fitness inspection.

“That’s not OK,” he explains. “You cannot assume a warrant is a 12-month ‘get out of jail free’ card.

“NZTA’s own data showed that last year 41 per cent of vehicles failed their warrant of fitness inspection. For 90,000 of those vehicles we can find no evidence that they were re-presented to ensure that failed components were fixed.”

Epps adds that the MTA has also seen data showing 15 per cent of fatal crashes in 2018 involved some form of vehicle factor, with lights, tyres, brakes, steering and suspension key areas of concern.

He says New Zealanders needed to better understand their responsibility to maintain a safe vehicle on the road and know what to do.

“We strongly believe that a module on vehicle safety, care, and maintenance be included in the driver licensing regime.

“This action, along with safety messages reminding drivers to keep an eye on the condition of their vehicle, would be money well spent from the $3b package announced by [Minister of Transport] Phil Twyford.”