National Car Test

The National Car Test, or NCT, is a roadworthiness test, which all cars in the Republic of Ireland must undergo. The test must first be taken when the car is between 3½ and 4 years old, with the second test between 5¾ and 6 years old and every two years after that. There are exemptions for certain categories of vehicles such as "vintage cars" and vehicles based permanently on some offshore Islands.

The NCT is available in 42 centres around Ireland and tests various aspects of cars for safety, including tyres, brakes and shock absorbers which are vigorously tested. This is necessary due to the poor quality of many Irish roads. It also tests the exhaust fumes for compliance with EU emissions standards. Visual aspects, such as the spare tyre, seat belts and lights are also checked.

Cars which pass receive an official certificate, which is valid for two years as of the latest date the car could have been tested. For example, if a car was first registered on 2000-05-01, it would do its first NCT between 2003-11-01 and 2004-04-30, but the certificate would expire on 2006-05-01 irrespective of when the test was actually taken.

As of 2006, the fee for the NCT is €49 for a full test, and €27.50 for a re-test that requires testing equipment (e.g. emission levels, aiming of headlights, etc.) Re-tests that do not need testing equipment (e.g. obscured registration plate, faulty windscreen wiper) are free of charge. However, missing an appointment or cancelling less than 5 days before the scheduled test results in a penalty charge of €21.90.

The official site states that one of the main reasons for this test is the economic benefit from increased servicing. (Pressure from the European Union was another) Despite heavy opposition before this test was introduced, the Irish government pushed ahead with it even though less than 1% of accidents were due to a mechanical failure. Also, currently there is no standard penalty for not displaying an NCT disc or producing an NCT certificate on inspection by the Gardaí. No penalty points can be given for lack of NCT certification, but fines can be issued - however, this does not occur often. Local authorities can (in theory) refuse to issue a tax disc to a vehicle not having a NCT certificate and Insurance companies could (in theory) declare cover for an untested (or failed) vehicle invalid

Controversy

There have been anecdotal reports of different test centres having different standards (even though they are supposed to test to standard criteria) and allegations of the existance of "failure targets" or quotas. Many drivers report failing, making no modification and passing on the retest. There have also been complaints of vehicles failing tests for trivial or non safety related reasons such as non-standard (but not actually illegal) number plates.

See also

• MOT (test)

External links

• NCT official website