# Penalty points and NCT



## liaconn (26 Apr 2009)

Does anyone else think its ridiculous that you can now get more points for not having done your NCT than for speeding.


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## RMCF (27 Apr 2009)

Yes.

My car cirrently needs an NCT and I emailed their Bookings email address about 2 weeks ago.

Still waiting on a reply


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## Ciaraella (27 Apr 2009)

You're better off ringing, I rang and was booked in for two weeks time, very quick service.


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## thedaras (27 Apr 2009)

liaconn said:


> Does anyone else think its ridiculous that you can now get more points for not having done your NCT than for speeding.


 The NCT is for the purpose of safety.If you dont speed ,you wont get penalty points,so you can easily prevent this from happening.

However the condition of your car regardless of speed is of upmost importance,hence the points.

You could be driving around with a dangerous tyre/brakes/lights etc and in an accident these are all relevant.So yes I think its correct.

Why should some people choose not to have the NCT  (when the rest of us are compliant),and get away it ...


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## callybags (27 Apr 2009)

Agree fully with Thedarus.

If you don't speed and have a valid NCT the sanction is exactly the same.

NIL penalty points


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## Caveat (27 Apr 2009)

Associated with this seems to be an almost 'playing dumb' approach sometimes. A lot of people don't seem to accept that the onus is on *them *to have their car tested when it is due - it is *their* responsibility to organise it, not the NCT centre.

I keep hearing things like "sure I've never heard from them" or "I never got a reminder". 

It's no good if your NCT is due in a week (or overdue), hastily trying to book a test from fear of receiving penalty points, then complaining when there is a backlog?!


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## shnaek (27 Apr 2009)

thedaras said:


> The NCT is for the purpose of safety.



The NCT is as much about making some cash as it is about safety. I'm not saying I disagree with it - all cars should be well maintained. But take this case as an example - a friend of mine bought a toyota second hand. He brought it to the NCT centre and had the test done. It passed. He was told his next test was due next month. The previous owner of the car had neglected to do his NCT and the due date had been 1 year and 11 months prior!

So my friend says that the car is supposed to be safe for 2 years once the test is done, right? This arguement isn't accepted. So he books in his car for the next month, and the car fails! 

Conclusion?

I have no problems with the NCT. But it is far from *************************. And there is absolutely no proof out there that the NCT has cut down on road accidents. So forgive me for not holding it in high regard, even though I comply with the law as we are all expected to do. And yes, I think 5 points and €1500 fine is harsh. Some people are forgetful, and others may not even know their car is due for a test. That's not an amazing excuse, but to hit them with 5 points and a huge fine for this is, in my opinion, an overreaction when you can get away with destroying a countries financial infrastructure and still remain in your job, no penalties applied. 

It is in the best interests of a country to keep citizens on the side of the law. Cracking down on the NCT (when it hasn't been proven to reduce accidents, and is prossibly as much about encouraging people to buy new cars) is hardly a priority when our country is being so poorly managed.


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## michaelm (27 Apr 2009)

liaconn said:


> Does anyone else think its ridiculous that you can now get more points for not having done your NCT than for speeding.


I do.  We only have the NCT to satisfy an EU edict.  Penalty points, in theory, is a tool to discourage bad driving.  Penalty points for not having a NCT cert underlines that the system is primarily about revenue generation. The NCT is only a snapshot, on the day, it says nothing of the state of the car the day before or the day after.


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## ophelia (27 Apr 2009)

rmcf, why don't you book online? or phone for an appointment.


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## woodbine (27 Apr 2009)

ophelia said:


> rmcf, why don't you book online? or phone for an appointment.


 
booking online seems to not be possible at the moment. 

[broken link removed]

*edit: apologies, when i clicked into the booking form online i got a message to ring them.*


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## NorthDrum (27 Apr 2009)

shnaek said:


> the nct is as much about making some cash as it is about safety. I'm not saying i disagree with it - all cars should be well maintained. But take this case as an example - a friend of mine bought a toyota second hand. He brought it to the nct centre and had the test done. It passed. He was told his next test was due next month. The previous owner of the car had neglected to do his nct and the due date had been 1 year and 11 months prior!
> 
> So my friend says that the car is supposed to be safe for 2 years once the test is done, right? This arguement isn't accepted. So he books in his car for the next month, and the car fails!
> 
> ...


 
+1


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## Smashbox (27 Apr 2009)

I thought all along that you were supposed to NCT your car anyway? Was I missing something when I paid out for a pre-NCT service, the fee for the test itself and the time it takes to go for the test?? 

Ireland seems to have some very lax rules. The rule all along was that you were supposed to have your car NCT'd. Same with the lax rules with L-Drivers. The rule all along was that you weren't supposed to drive unaccompanied, yet they had to bring in new updated laws to try and drill it home to people, even though it was there all along.


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## woodbine (27 Apr 2009)

when the NCT was first introduced i think you were supposed to show the cert when taxing your car. But so many people didn't have the NCT that the local authority were losing out money in motor tax revenue. 

They then changed the rules so that you didn't have to produce an nct cert in order to tax the vehicle.  


i agree with a lot of what has been said. Ultimately i believe that the NCT is based on revenue, with safety as a close second. 

btw, the pre-nct service is not compulsory. it's just a service and to check that the car _should_ pass on the day.


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## Smashbox (27 Apr 2009)

woodbine said:


> btw, the pre-nct service is not compulsory. it's just a service and to check that the car _should_ pass on the day.


 
Yes, I know, but I service my car regularly and so would time it around the NCT when applicable.


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## Pique318 (27 Apr 2009)

My car failed on corroded brake lines (fair enough...had them replaced and new front pads also). I brought the car back a couple of weeks later and amazingly my handbrake had got stronger (although nothing had been done to it in the meantime) and my normal brakes had got weaker (even though the pads were replaced and were noticeably stronger while driving).

I'd love to put my car through the NCT twice in immediate succession. I would lay good money that there would be significant differences in the results.


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## bb12 (27 Apr 2009)

i bought a jeep last year. it had been nct'd and passed with flying colours the day before i bought it.  i subsequently noticed a knocking sound in the engine shortly afterwards and turns out it had a smashed piston.  had to get the whole engine rebuilt just 1 month after the nct.  

either the nct caused it (high revving a petrol engine) or they passed it with its smashed piston. either way i have absolutely no regard for this so-called vehicle 'safety  cert'.


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## demoivre (27 Apr 2009)

liaconn said:


> Does anyone else think its ridiculous that you can now get more points for not having done your NCT than for speeding.



No more ridiculous than the fact that, while driving, you can undo the wrapper on a pack of cigarettes, remove the foil, take out a cigarette, light a match, light the cigarette and smoke away with impunity whereas I press the answer button on my mobile phone and hold it up to my ear while driving my automatic motor I can get 2 penalty points and a €60 fine. It's absurd imo.


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## csirl (27 Apr 2009)

bb12 said:


> i bought a jeep last year. it had been nct'd and passed with flying colours the day before i bought it. i subsequently noticed a knocking sound in the engine shortly afterwards and turns out it had a smashed piston. had to get the whole engine rebuilt just 1 month after the nct.
> 
> either the nct caused it (high revving a petrol engine) or they passed it with its smashed piston. either way i have absolutely no regard for this so-called vehicle 'safety cert'.


 
Not an expert on car mechanics, but could it be that the purpose of the NCT is to determine whether or not a car is safe to be on a public road, not whether it has a mechanical problem that needs fixing. A lot of mechanical faults are also safety issues, but not all?


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## Caveat (27 Apr 2009)

demoivre said:


> No more ridiculous than the fact that, while driving, you can undo the wrapper on a pack of cigarettes, remove the foil, take out a cigarette, light a match, light the cigarette and smoke away with impunity whereas I press the answer button on my mobile phone and hold it up to my ear while driving my automatic motor I can get 2 penalty points and a €60 fine. It's absurd imo.


 
I know what you mean, but if you were observed during your smoking ritual by a garda who decided you were not driving with due care and attention (not looking at road/hands off the wheel etc  - whatever) you could still be done anyway.


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## liaconn (27 Apr 2009)

I'm not objecting to the NCT in principle. I'm objecting to the way its become a money spinning racket with people failing for spurious reasons. eg the plastic back on one of my wing mirrors is missing. This in no way affects the safety of my car but apparently I will fail the NCT if I don't get it sorted. It is this kind of thing that put people off doing it in a lot of cases. I know somebody else who failed it because they had newspapers strewn across the backseat!!! I could understand a coke can rolling around under the drivers seat or something, but really!


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## Caveat (27 Apr 2009)

liaconn said:


> I know somebody else who failed it because they had newspapers strewn across the backseat!!!



Ah but you see with the window open, a breeze could have caused a big double spread to flap and flutter around the interior like a paper pterodactyl and the spine could just settle on the bridge of driver's nose like a big tent - then of course there would be lots of flapping around yelling and panicking (but no attempt made to actually remove the paper) and before you know it the front bumper would be hugging both sides of a tree trunk - and one wheel would be invariably slowly rolling down the road (but thankfully no-one would be injured).

At least that's what happens on tv anyway.


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## Vanilla (27 Apr 2009)

Caveat said:


> to flap and flutter around the interior like a paper pterodactyl and the spine could just settle on the bridge of driver's nose like a big tent


 
Best imagery in a post ever on AAM.


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## demoivre (28 Apr 2009)

Caveat said:


> I know what you mean, but if you were observed during your smoking ritual by a garda who decided you were not driving with due care and attention (not looking at road/hands off the wheel etc  - whatever) you could still be done anyway.



You could and that's exactly the point ! No need for a separate law governing mobile phone use while driving at all imo. Existing road traffic laws should have been enough to cover the use of mobile phones while driving. There's a big difference road safety wise between answering a call while driving an automatic car versus,for example, making a call while driving a manual car or texting while driving yet the offence is that of " holding a mobile phone " so in each case you will get the same penalty points! If you are going to have a separate offence for mobile phone use while driving you might as well introduce other new driving offences for fiddling with the radio while driving , opening and eating a Mars bar or lighting a cigarette etc.


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## Caveat (28 Apr 2009)

Yes, I totally agree demoivre.


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## mcaul (28 Apr 2009)

Penalty points for having no NCT can only be applied by the court. They will not be applied by normal ticket like speeding.

It is an extra weapon for the gardai to use to ensure that unroadworthy vehicles are kept off the road. If your NCT is out by a couple of months, you have no worries, but if you drive a car that is obviously defective and dangerous and there is no nct for it, then you will receive the additional penalty of 5 points.


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## thedaras (29 Apr 2009)

Now this I have an issue with.
Hubby brought car for NCT test,it needed some minor stuff done.
According to the hubby it was to be brought back by May 29th,so off we went and got the failed things sorted.
I go to the NCT centre this morning and was told I was supposed to have it back by the 27th and not the 29th! to avail of the free check.Fair enough ,our fault,
Now I have to go for the full thing again!
This seems to be a money making racket,when it was only done a few weeks ago,up to two days ago it would have been a free check for the failed items,but as it was 2 days out it has to go through the whole system again.Surely this is a waste of the testers time,a waste of taxpayers money,and when so many people are trying to get their cars tested with the new penalty points system it seems crazy.
We were in the wrong by not getting the date right,my issue is why it has to have a complete check again.
I just dont get that.
Help me understand.


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## Smashbox (29 Apr 2009)

Wonder what happens if you get pulled over on your _way_ to the test centre?


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## zag (29 Apr 2009)

There is no understanding to be done . . . the NCT is a mess, the administration is a mess, the arbitrary pass/fail mechanism is a mess, the arbitrary mini/full re-test criteria are a mess, the fact you can't book online is a mess, the fact they don't send out reminders is a mess.  It's all a mess.

I have my car serviced regularly - I don't have any problems getting an appointment to get this done, I'm happy that the garage do a good job, I'm happy enough that my car is roadworthy and safe.  I would like to get the NCT to verify this, but I have tried and tried and tried and tried to make an appointment and can't contact them.

I don't understand why they don't just open up their booking system and let people put in reservations for 4 months ahead.  If the person doesn't turn up they still get charged.  NCT don't lose but the customer (and the rest of us) at least gets to make an appointment.  At the moment customers can't even make this appointment.

My insurance company *have* to send out a reminder in advance of expiry of my policy, the local authority have to send out a reminder before the tax expires, so why not the NCT ?

z


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## thedaras (29 Apr 2009)

Smashbox said:


> Wonder what happens if you get pulled over on your _way_ to the test centre?


 
Well the chances of getting pulled over is very very slim.IMHO!
Its a bit like the laws about using mobile phones/speeding/going through red lights,and on and on and on..all these rules and no one implementing them! And each and every day I see all the above happening.
Knowing my luck though........


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## ophelia (29 Apr 2009)

My car (4 years old) failed it's first nct on emmissions - way over the limit.  I couldn't believe it and insisted the mechanic check it again, what do you know - ten minutes later the emmissions are way below what is necessary to pass!  I asked how this could happen and wasn't given an answer, just an indecipherable grunt and a shrug. Good job I didn't accept the first result.


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## shnaek (29 Apr 2009)

ophelia said:


> My car (4 years old) failed it's first nct on emmissions - way over the limit.  I couldn't believe it and insisted the mechanic check it again, what do you know - ten minutes later the emmissions are way below what is necessary to pass!  I asked how this could happen and wasn't given an answer, just an indecipherable grunt and a shrug. Good job I didn't accept the first result.



Give the car a good run in third on the morning of the test. Does wonders for the emmissions.


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## liaconn (29 Apr 2009)

thedaras said:


> Now this I have an issue with.
> Hubby brought car for NCT test,it needed some minor stuff done.
> According to the hubby it was to be brought back by May 29th,so off we went and got the failed things sorted.
> I go to the NCT centre this morning and was told I was supposed to have it back by the 27th and not the 29th! to avail of the free check.Fair enough ,our fault,
> ...




The main purpose of the NCT in this country seems to be to make money. My mechanic told me that they are only looking for things to fail people on.  A lot of people I know just change their car when the NCT is due, because its less hassle!


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## Caveat (29 Apr 2009)

liaconn said:


> A lot of people I know just change their car when the NCT is due, because its less hassle!


 
Really? Seems like a very extravagant solution!


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## liaconn (30 Apr 2009)

Caveat said:


> Really? Seems like a very extravagant solution!


 
Not really. Because it has to be done on cars which are still relatively new, it doesn't cost much more to simply top up your loan and get a new one. I'm talking about people who would be changing their car every three or so years anyway, so its easier to just change it a bit sooner without the hassle of doing an NCT and having to pay a fortune to get lots of unneccessary things 'fixed'.


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## samanthajane (30 Apr 2009)

Caveat said:


> Really? Seems like a very extravagant solution!


 
It's what i've always done ( well apart from this year ) 

Apart from my very first car ( old banger ) i've always changed my car every few years, not just to avoid the nct, but that was one of the reasons. I've only been to one before and that was enough to put me off for a lifetime. 5 hours i was there waiting. Even with my letter stating the time and date somehow i wasn't on their system so i had to wait for a space to squeeze me in or for someone not to show up. I could of rebooked but since i had the day off work anyway i decided to stick it out. Not the most fun day i've ever had. 

Amazingly the car passed!! Dont think it should of done think they just felt sorry for me being stuck there for so long.  

I've heard of a few people failing over the emmissions. Is that really true to drive around in 3rd for a while?? Will have to give that a go.


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## Smashbox (30 Apr 2009)

He hasnt done anything yet, all he said was for €100 the car would pass no problem. Is there anywhere else this test can be done apart from an NCT Test Centre? 

I'll have to go snooping for more info!

Btw, its not Athlone, but for €100 I'll give the name of the place by pm


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## samanthajane (30 Apr 2009)

I'm not too sure how it's done either.

He wasn't approached at the nct test centre and was told this could happen. A friend of his who works in a garage looks at the car before hand and told him the emmissions wouldn't pass but for €100 he could make sure it would pass. 

Funny that the price was the same. Maybe the person made sure he was free at the time the car was due in so he would be the person to test it.......

But since the tests are done by computer i dont get how he was able to change the results. 

I was thinking that maybe he was just told the emmissions wouldn't pass to get the €100 from him, when in fact there was nothing wrong with the car. But he knows this lad very well grew up with him so i dont think he would of done that to him, but you never know. 

either way he payed the €100 and the car was passed.


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## NorthDrum (30 Apr 2009)

Awesome . . 

My Car passed the NCT today. Was sure it would fail (what with all the bad news floating about at the moment!).

I actually feel like going out for a night on the town . . . . 

Oh dear, I need to get out more (or at least give myself better reasons to go out ! ! !).


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## samanthajane (30 Apr 2009)

well done NorthDrum on your car passing. ( did it pass on it's own or did you pay for it to pass lol )

Go out anyway doesn't matter what the reson is.


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## NorthDrum (30 Apr 2009)

samanthajane said:


> well done NorthDrum on your car passing. ( did it pass on it's own or did you pay for it to pass lol )
> 
> Go out anyway doesn't matter what the reson is.


 
Thanks very much Samantha, I feel like I should get some sort of trophy or something, I dont even have a speech prepared . . . 

Well my wife went to get it tested for me (had a meeting). She brought our new born child (was sort of hoping , very deviously) that this may pluck the heart strings of those NCT lads . . .

I hope to god if there was any under the counter payment that it was in cash . . . ! ! ! 

Cant believe how psyched I am . . . Ridiculous, I nearly feel ashamed . . . Im going to take my dogs for a walk on the beach, I cant believe how happy I am (maybe I should get my car NCT'd more regularly, could be the new natural prozac)


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## Pique318 (1 May 2009)

NorthDrum said:


> I cant believe how happy I am (maybe I should get my car NCT'd more regularly, could be the new natural prozac)


At €50 a pop, I'll take the synthesised version thank you very much !!!


I can't believe (but unfortunately I do) all these stories of this magical €100 to pass your car. Jaysus, no wonder we were found to be more corrupt than the Italians a few years back....and they practically wrote the book on corruption !


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## Caveat (1 May 2009)

Never heard or experienced anything dodgy about my local centre.

In fact the last time the guy had a bit of a chat and complimented me on the excellent condition of the car or "really clean example" as they say.


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## lightswitch (1 May 2009)

[broken link removed]

Just received this from the AA, aparently all the worry about getting 5 points is nonsence.  Hopefully they are right


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## nai (1 May 2009)

demoivre said:


> No more ridiculous than the fact that, while driving, you can undo the wrapper on a pack of cigarettes, remove the foil, take out a cigarette, light a match, light the cigarette and smoke away with impunity whereas I press the answer button on my mobile phone and hold it up to my ear while driving my automatic motor I can get 2 penalty points and a €60 fine. It's absurd imo.



you should have a look at the uk traffic cops episode that was on last weekend in relation to mobile use while driving - a truck driver was messing with his phone, did see a line of stationary traffis, hit them at 60 w/o touching the brakes and squashed a peugeout so badly it took the fire service approx 2 hours to work out how many people were in the car. 
There were some of their traffic cops interviewed who said that in a short period (1-2 months) they had investigated a number of crashes where people were killed and at least 3 excluding the truck had been a direct result of people 'just answering a call !'
There are alot of statistics out there that show how dangerous using a phone is while driving - and your automatic comment is meaningless - it's about concentration and time to react, not having two hands on the wheel.


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## Simeon (4 May 2009)

demoivre said:


> You could and that's exactly the point ! No need for a separate law governing mobile phone use while driving at all imo. Existing road traffic laws should have been enough to cover the use of mobile phones while driving. There's a big difference road safety wise between answering a call while driving an automatic car versus,for example, making a call while driving a manual car or texting while driving yet the offence is that of " holding a mobile phone " so in each case you will get the same penalty points! If you are going to have a separate offence for mobile phone use while driving you might as well introduce other new driving offences for fiddling with the radio while driving , opening and eating a Mars bar or lighting a cigarette etc.



Again, a stupid law that is already covered by "undue attention" etc. Now, if a garda in a passing squad car notices you chatting while steering and then pulls you, is he paying due care and attention to his driving? What about changing radio stations? Opening manually or pressing the electric window button? I know some people who are barely capable of breathing and changing gears simultaneously. I also know people that can keep lots of hoops in the air, whistle AND breathe. Many years ago, the gardai said that listening to the radio would distract drivers. This, of course, did not include officers on their hand held gadgets. Who makes these rules?


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## Latrade (5 May 2009)

Simeon said:


> Again, a stupid law that is already covered by "undue attention" etc. Now, if a garda in a passing squad car notices you chatting while steering and then pulls you, is he paying due care and attention to his driving? What about changing radio stations? Opening manually or pressing the electric window button? I know some people who are barely capable of breathing and changing gears simultaneously. I also know people that can keep lots of hoops in the air, whistle AND breathe. Many years ago, the gardai said that listening to the radio would distract drivers. This, of course, did not include officers on their hand held gadgets. Who makes these rules?


 
I suppose within there is the question and answer. Sometimes the generality of Primary Legislation needs some focus and specifics. Case in point the gardai saying that listening to the radio is a distraction would you really want to leave that kind of decision down to the whim of an individual at an individual point in time on an individual day? 

If it was left open to the opinion of the individual garda with no guidance or specific offences you wouldn't have consistency. You'd be done for eating a bounty in the car in Swords, but ok in Navan or something. Also, the legislation sets out the penalty points for specific offences, it doesn't mean that other offences don't exist, just that these offences carry set pps.

It'd be an ideal world where a general statement in legislation could be consistently enforced. 

Slightly back on topic, and on the line of self-incrimination, I was... I mean a friend of mine, happens to have been an idiot and left their NCT to the last minute not planning on this whole crock kicking off and so when I...they, went to renew, they got stuck in with the panic bookings and now has 2 months to wait. Anyway stopped at a check point, sweating copiously, had out the booking forms as well as pleas for mercy and tales woe, garda stops the car, looks at the discs and waves me on without a by or leave. So much for clamping down just yet.

Cue numerous in car jokes about how the emissions test would have been failed at that point. In my, his, defence it was the dinner of cabbage the previous day and nothing to do with thinking they'd be nicked.


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## bond-007 (5 May 2009)

Well I just rang them there for my father. No tests until the 20th of July in Arklow.

My neighbour happens to be a NCT tester and he has told me that he will not test any cars from the village and he has told me to take my car to a different centre.


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## zag (5 May 2009)

Mrs Zag dropped in to the local NCT on the way to work this morning but they don't take bookings there.  She checked the website and they had no slots in the next 5 weeks or whatever.  She had more success ringing them than I did and managed to secure a booking in Deansgrange for the end of July - almost 90 days away.

z


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## DrMoriarty (6 May 2009)

I've had to delete a number of posts in this thread. I'd ask those involved to please refrain from making potentially  allegations. Or go and make them somewhere else.


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## Lex Foutish (6 May 2009)

My car went for NCT yesterday. I didnt have it checked or serviced beforehand. I just replaced a blown parking light bulb myself. Arrived two minutes before the appointed time, the car went in exactly on time and 21 minutes later I was driving out with my cert. Would that everything went as smoothly.............


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## RMCF (7 May 2009)

Could someone confirm the legality of getting a date for an NCT (say for example in 5 weeks time) and then being able to drive the car in the meantime?

Is it legal to do this or can you still get fined for it? I know people will say that it was the owners responsibility to get a test sorted before their old one ran out, but most people can't do without their car for this length of time if they hadn't got a test booked.


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## Latrade (7 May 2009)

RMCF said:


> Could someone confirm the legality of getting a date for an NCT (say for example in 5 weeks time) and then being able to drive the car in the meantime?
> 
> Is it legal to do this or can you still get fined for it? I know people will say that it was the owners responsibility to get a test sorted before their old one ran out, but most people can't do without their car for this length of time if they hadn't got a test booked.


 
It's still driving without a valid NCT. However, as the AA have pointed out extensively, the points are the maximum on conviction (similar to 6 months in prison for littering being a potential punishment rather than the actual punishment).

Purely based on experience of others (ergo not an official or absolute rule), it seems the gardai are aware of the situation and if you do have a letter they are inclined to let it go. Of course this doesn't mean every individial garda is so inclined, plus if the car looks a complete write off then they may take it further.

But from their point of view NCT has been in place for nearly 10 years, it's a bit late in the day to be crying foul.


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## RMCF (7 May 2009)

Thanks

My situation is slightly different. I own an old car (classic?) that was in storage and have recently decided to put it back on the road, hence me not having an NCT.

I emailed the NCT booking email address over 3 weeks ago and have heard nothing since.


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## Latrade (7 May 2009)

RMCF said:


> Thanks
> 
> My situation is slightly different. I own an old car (classic?) that was in storage and have recently decided to put it back on the road, hence me not having an NCT.
> 
> I emailed the NCT booking email address over 3 weeks ago and have heard nothing since.


 
I think persisting with the old phone seems to be the best option rather than email or internet. 

I didn't mean to imply anything in my post btw, just there has been an element of "how dare they" when it's not exactly a new system.

I suppose in your case you can keep it off the road until the NCT? Might be the best option if you have any concerns.


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## RMCF (7 May 2009)

Latrade said:


> I think persisting with the old phone seems to be the best option rather than email or internet.
> 
> I didn't mean to imply anything in my post btw, just there has been an element of "how dare they" when it's not exactly a new system.
> 
> I suppose in your case you can keep it off the road until the NCT? Might be the best option if you have any concerns.



Yeah keeping it off the road may be the best option.

I appreciate you weren't implying anything, I was just adding some info to help the thread as I know that its the owners responsibility to ensure they have a test organised in time so they aren't driving around without an NCT, but mine was slightly different.


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## Vanilla (7 May 2009)

Guards are definitely cracking down on NCT in our area. Was driving down street in my admittedly ancient volvo and passed them going other direction. They took one look at my car and did a u-turn to pull me. Natch I had my NCT disk though.


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## BOXtheFOX (8 May 2009)

Mrs Box had her car tested this week and it passed with flying colours. In fact the car is even healthier than when it had it's last NCT test according to the report, despite it not having had a service since it's last test. Car heal thyself.


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## RMCF (8 May 2009)

BOXtheFOX said:


> Mrs Box had her car tested this week and it passed with flying colours. In fact the car is even healthier than when it had it's last NCT test according to the report, despite it not having had a service since it's last test. Car heal thyself.



Perhaps it shows the test is not overly accurate?


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## Smashbox (8 May 2009)

My brothers car failed on minor things today, they said the retest had to be done in 3 weeks... this gonna be possible at all?!


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## bond-007 (8 May 2009)

He needs to call them ASAP and rebook.


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## Smashbox (8 May 2009)

Thanks for that bond. Their site is showing July/Aug bookings, so he rang them and got in on the third week.


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## RMCF (8 May 2009)

Got fed up waiting on email reply, so just called them and got a booking for 3rd week in July.


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## RMCF (10 May 2009)

Edit - that was actually 3rd week in August !!!! Now thats what I call a delay.

Can anyone give any advice as to whether I will get a fine if I am stopped by the Gardai while waiting on my test?


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## bond-007 (10 May 2009)

Simple carry the letter in the glovebox as proof. I can't see any issues.


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## RMCF (10 May 2009)

bond-007 said:


> Simple carry the letter in the glovebox as proof. I can't see any issues.



Yeah I was hoping that would do it, but I thought that perhaps the Gardai might not think that way.

Perhaps I will try to get a word with the local Garda to see if that would suffice?


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## Smashbox (10 May 2009)

How long is your NCT overdue?


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## RMCF (11 May 2009)

Smashbox said:


> How long is your NCT overdue?



My car was in storage and has just been fixed up and put back on the road in the last couple of weeks, so it hasn't had an NCT for a long time.

Bit of a strange case but I was hoping that I could use it until the test date - it is mechanically very sound.


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