The editors’ comment [routeone/9 January] suggests that those who have gained Earned Recognition (ER) status should to be able to self MoT test. I would respectfully suggest that this is not a good idea.
An independent MoT test is every operator's assurance that their vehicles are safe and roadworthy.
More importantly it provides public confidence in the quality of their product, and, God forbid, in the event of a serious accident it provides media reassurance that the vehicle was being properly maintained, particularly if the annual test was recent.
The real problem here is the inability of DVSA to properly staff its testing requirement.
A recent chat with those who run my local ATF reveals that DVSA seems incapable of recruiting and retaining sufficient qualified testers. This results in long booking delays, cancelled tests, often at short notice, and lost revenue for the ATF operators who rely on full test lanes to make a living. Complaining, I was told achieves nothing.
Not surprising, when DVSA is an arm's length activity of the Department for Transport where we all know that "grayling" (the practice of consistently providing inadequate customer service) is all too frequent.
Getting DVSA to improve its performance is probably a lost cause, but there is a simple solution. ATFs should be permitted to employ their own delegated authorised testers. With an incentive to ensure maximum availability, and full test lanes, the problem would disappear overnight. DVSA would then be able to audit testers in the same way that delegated driving examiners are audited by the same organisation.
Most importantly, the operators would get the service that they deserve and would still have the reassurance of an independent test of each of their vehicles.
Tim Gibson
Leeds
