It follows a recent announcement by the External Relations Department that Jersey vehicles will need to meet EU roadworthiness standards in order to be driven on the continent when the UK leaves the EU.
The UK government will soon be adopting the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which forces countries to recognise the legality of vehicles from other signatory states – thus allowing cars from the UK and Jersey to be driven on roads in most European countries without issue.
However, Jonathan Bell, Trust Ford Channel Islands’ general manager, claims that today there are vehicles being driven on the Island’s roads in an unsafe condition. The dealer also referred to one recent case where he spotted a van parked in Gorey which had a piece of wood in place of a driver’s side window.
He said: ‘Only last year we scrapped nearly 60 vehicles which we took on part-exchange in Jersey and 40 in Guernsey.
‘There have been a whole range of issues. A lot of them are generally in very poor condition, where the tyres are bald and the brakes are considerably worn.
‘People bring it in because they do not want to face having to pay high repair costs.’
He added that they did not keep a record of how many needed to be scrapped because they were unroadworthy and how many they disposed of because they were not in a saleable condition.
The issue was brought to light during a road check in St Mary last week when two cars were taken off the road and 12 drivers were issued with vehicle defect notices after their cars were deemed to be unroadworthy. In 2017 a total of 11 cars were taken off the road and scrapped and 300 motorists issued with defect notices following checks carried out by the honorary police and DVS.
Mr Bell added: ‘What I want to make clear is that I am not just trying to make more work for dealerships and garages.
‘Our service department find that a lot of vehicles are being driven around in quite a dangerous condition and if they get taken to France or the UK, then they will be driven at 70 mph, which does not really bear thinking about.
‘MOT tests would help avoid this and encourage better care and earlier detection of problems, which could save lives.’
He added: ‘If an MOT programme was set up, we would need a body to monitor how checks are being carried out and ensure they are being done properly.’
