Testing the Limits

Testing the Limits

Tonight on RT One's Prime Time, a report from the RT Investigations Unit reveals a number of flaws in the National Car Test that the public does not appear to be aware of.

Testing the Limits examines a number of facets of the NCT including the test carried out on car suspensions / shock absorbers. Shock absorbers are critical to road safety. They keep the tyres in contact with the road when driving on uneven surfaces or when cornering. Tonight's report reveals a car may pass the test even though its shock absorbers may be defective. It means that motorists can leave an NCT centre with a road worthiness certificate stating that their suspension has passed even though it may be in what experts describe as, a dangerous condition .

Vehicle experts told the RT Investigations Unit that if a car registers a suspension reading above 80 mahameters (effectively millimetres) it should raise a red flag because it suggests the shock absorbers need to be replaced. Yet cars pass the NCT with readings well in excess of that. According to test results seen by the RT Investigations Unit, one car passed with shocks showing readings of 159 mahameters on one side and 178 on another. Experts the unit spoke to say readings that high would indicate this car was unstable but it would pass because the wheels were in balance relative to each other.

The report will look at the case of Paula Murphy from Cork who lost her daughter, Amanda O'Flaherty, in 2012 in a car accident. While we will never know what caused the accident, the inquest into Amanda's death heard evidence from a Garda vehicle inspector who examined the car after the accident. He told the inquest that the car was not in a roadworthy condition prior to the collision because the two rear shock absorbers were leaking an excessive amount of oil making the vehicle very unstable before and during cornering. The accident happened seven months after Amanda's car passed the NCT test. She clocked up nearly 1300 miles between the test and the accident. The readings at the time of her test were 94 mahameters on one rear wheel and 96 on the other.

The Road Safety Authority has rejected the idea that readings on Amanda O'Flaherty's car were abnormally high and says that at the time of the test there was no evidence of fluid leakage presented In an interview with the RT Investigations Unit which features in tonight's report, RSA Chief Executive, Moyagh Murdock, said that the Irish NCT is highly sophisticated and probably the most sophisticated in the member states involved in the road safety strategy. She also points out that there is no consensus in Europe on how best to test suspension systems and Ireland is one of only five EU states that carries out a balance test as well as a visual check on shock absorbers.

Watch RT Prime Time tonight, 9.35pm, RT One and RT News Now

LINK:	http://www.rte.ie/about/en/press-office/press-releases/2016/0421/78337...
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