Faulty buses were OK when checked, say testers

A fleet of Northland school buses which failed police safety checks last month were in "good health" when earlier tested at the Kerikeri vehicle testing station, Vehicle Testing New Zealand claims.

The eight buses - seven from Otene Buses Ltd and one from Kaikohe Bus Company - were ordered off the road and their certificates of fitness revoked after police spot inspections in late July.

Police said the buses, which were being used to transport students to Okaihau College and Okaihau, Horeke and Umawera primary schools, had a "whole series" of faults, including rust, structural and mechanical problems.

The Kerikeri vehicle testing station had earlier issued the buses with certificates of fitness - and Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) has backed its judgement.

An experienced VTNZ auditor had since "thoroughly examined" the buses fitness reports and found the vehicles were in "good health" when the certificates were issued, the company says.

Most of the testing station inspections occurred four to five months before the police checks and the buses had covered "many thousands of kilometres" in the interim, Vehicle Testing NZ marketing manager Renee Campbell-Scott said.

Auckland police Sergeant Robert Haworth, of the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit, told the Northern Advocate last month he would pass the file to Land Transport NZ and get them to ask questions of the Kerikeri testing station.

"The fact the buses had current certificates of fitness is of concern to me because the faults are not something that happen overnight."

Two of the buses had been issued certificates of fitness in the week before the police checks, but Vehicle Testing NZ says they were also in good health at the time of inspection.

The responsibility for keeping all vehicles up to New Zealand safety standards between inspections fell with the owners of the vehicles, Ms Campbell-Scott said.

"Several issues" raised by police, including a non-reflective bus sign and water leaks in a sunroof, were not required to be inspected as part of a certificate of fitness inspection, she said.

Vehicle Testing NZ had also offered "helpful" comments for the owners' information on the buses inspection reports, which it wasn't required to do, she said.

"Regarding the matter of one bus allegedly having play in a left front kingpin, this vehicle was passed as being satisfactory at the time of inspection but with a written comment that the kingpin was exhibiting wear.

"It was considered to be within the manufacturer's tolerance guidelines at the time of inspection."

Meanwhile, as of last week, six of the buses had been rechecked at the Kerikeri testing station and were now back on the road. One bus had yet to be presented back to the station, while the other was still being checked.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE