Crusading mother's warning on ‘death trap’ second hand cars

A crusading mother whose daughter died while driving a defective jeep believes the vehicle’s last NCT report raises more questions than it answers.

Paula Murphy, who took on the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) over data protection and won, has also warned of the dangers of buying cheap second-hand cars.

Ms Murphy’s daughter Amanda O’Flaherty, 26, died in a two-car crash near Cobh, Co Cork, in 2012.

She spoke out yesterday after finally receiving the jeep’s last NCT report which had been denied to her on data protection grounds.

“This report from May 31, 2012, says Amanda’s car was roadworthy but six months later it wasn’t roadworthy and she was dead after driving it. I believe it was a deathtrap,” said Ms Murphy.

“This NCT report is very worrying and raises more questions than it answers.”

An inquest heard the car was not roadworthy at the time of the accident.

A Garda public service vehicle inspector found defects in its rear suspension which, he said, would have made the vehicle unstable before and during cornering.

Ms Murphy’s motor assessor, Liam Cotter, said the mileage recorded by Amanda wasn’t big enough for the suspension to deteriorate to the extent it did in the six months she owned the car.

Mr Cotter wanted to compare his findings with the jeep’s last NCT report but the NCTS refused to release it, citing data protection issues.

But after her plight was highlighted in Monday’s Irish Examiner, data protection minister Dara Murphy and the Road Safety Authority intervened.

The RSA ordered the NCTS to release the data and it apologised to Ms Murphy.

The report arrived in the post at her house in Farranree yesterday.

“I’m delighted to finally have it. It’s like winning the lotto. It’s the start of my journey now as we try to find out what happened to Amanda’s car,” she said.

“But I’m very disappointed with the way this whole thing was handled.”

Mr Cotter is now comparing the findings of his examination of the remains of Amanda’s defective jeep with the results of the NCT test in a bid to determine why the vehicle’s suspension deteriorated to such an extent in just six months.

Ms Murphy advised people buying second-hand cars to avoid private sales, and to deal only with reputable dealers or garages. “Be very, very careful about who you’re dealing with,” she said. “I would also urge people to have a mechanic look over a car you’re thinking of buying, before handing over any cash.”