Making our roads safer: Car test delays unacceptable

We’ve always been far, far better at making rules than enforcing them. 

Today’s report that there are over 200,000 cars on our roads without valid NCT certificates is another confirmation of this. The fact that this figure is likely to rise in the new year because of an almost unmanageable backlog at some testing centres suggests that we are not about to change that habit any time soon either.

This kind of light-touch or non-existent regulation undermines the credibility of our efforts to make our roads safer for everyone. That road safety measures — specifically the penalty points system— have been undermined by our police force puts our efforts at improving safety for road users in a particularly unflattering light. This reality is reflected in an increasing number of fatal traffic accidents.