Move to ban 'rubbish' cars

Flood-damaged imported cars will be banned from the road under proposed measures aimed at improving vehicle safety.

The proposal was made in the Land Transport Safety Authority's (LTSA) vehicle standards compliance draft rule, released for public consultation yesterday.

The rule sets out requirements for the inspection and certification of vehicles entering New Zealand and being used on the road.

Dozens of flood-damaged used vehicles from Japan were unloaded on the New Zealand market last year, prompting the Automobile Association to call for authorities to take a tough line against "rubbish" vehicles.

At the moment, flood-damaged cars can legally be sold if they pass LTSA safety checks and meet Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry standards.

Other measures in the draft rule include:

* More stringent border inspections for imported used vehicles.

* Introducing six-monthly warrant of fitness inspections for vehicles more than five years old.

* Varying the frequency of certificate of fitness inspections for commercial vehicles depending on operators' safety records.

* Allowing current certificates of fitness to be cancelled when a serious defect is found on a commercial vehicle.

The new rules, to be introduced by April 1 next year, would effectively ban imports of pre-1994 used cars from Japan because they would not meet new frontal impact standards.

- NZPA