Penalty points and NCT

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liaconn

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

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

Still waiting on a reply
 
You're better off ringing, I rang and was booked in for two weeks time, very quick service.
 
liaconn said:
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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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 ...
 
Agree fully with Thedarus.

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

NIL penalty points
 
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?!
 
thedaras said:
The NCT is for the purpose of safety.
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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.
 
liaconn said:
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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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.
 
ophelia said:
rmcf, why don't you book online? or phone for an appointment.
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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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+1
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
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Yes, I know, but I service my car regularly and so would time it around the NCT when applicable.
 
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.
 
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'.
 
liaconn said:
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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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.
 

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?
 

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.
 
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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