The New Zealand public has taken a hands-on approach to potential changes to the frequency of warrant of fitness inspections, says the Motor Trade Association.
The high level of public interest in Government's Vehicle Licensing Reform project reflects the importance many New Zealanders place on achieving an appropriate balance between costs, convenience and high levels of road safety.
Submissions closed yesterday with 4,200 submissions being received; normal expectations would be for around 250.
Part of MTA's approach to the options put forward regarding changes to WoF frequency was to allow the public to have their say.
MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach said "We'd carried out our own research earlier in the year that indicated high levels of concern about the possibility of changes to WoF frequency, and we wanted to see how deeply those concerns ran. The response from the public was very strong, not just through the channels we created, but via other outlets as well."
A number of sound suggestions were made by members of the public, with some of those being included in MTA's submission. For example MTA is submitting that both classic cars (pre 1960) and household trailers should only require an annual WoF, as neither represents a significant safety risk.
Stronach said "We assumed there would be some interest around WoF, but the scale of comment and participation really surprised us. While our poll was just that, a simple poll, there were some noticeable trends with safety being the prime issue."
The government will spend the next few weeks considering submissions, with a preferred option being presented to Cabinet for a final decision expected before the end of the year.
MTA has asked the Government to have a further round of consultation on the preferred options for the WoF, Certificate of Fitness (CoF), vehicle licensing and transport service licenses.