More than half of vehicles retested after Northland garage's WoF suspension fail first recheck

Dargaville Diesel Specialists has been suspended indefinitely from issuing Warrants of Fitness. Photo / John Stone

Sixty-three per cent of vehicles retested after being issued a Warrant of Fitness from a Northland garage failed their first recheck.

Dargaville Diesel Specialists (DDS) was suspended from issuing WoFs on August 28 this year after an investigation sparked by a fatal crash near Dargaville on January 6.

New Zealand Transport Agency wrote to all 1956 vehicle owners who had been issued WoFs in the previous 12 months from DDS to strongly recommend they get their vehicles rechecked as soon as possible. The vehicle owners were sent vouchers so they could do this at no extra cost.

Of those 1956 vehicles, 741 have been re-certified while the remaining 1215 have not been checked. NZTA said the law does not allow them to revoke warrants unilaterally.

Of the 741 vehicles rechecked, 465 vehicles (or 63 per cent) failed their first recheck. Fifty-eight vehicles had seatbelts as one of their faults recorded.

The agency said it is continuing to re-contact the 1215 vehicle owners who can still get a re-inspection for free.

More than half the vehicle retested after being issued a WoF from Dargaville Diesel Specialists in the past year failed their first recheck. Photo/Supplied

Dargaville Diesel owner Rodney Wilson disputed that he had a shoddy inspection system.

He said he had been involved in mechanics for 50 years and there was no way he would do anything that impacted on people's safety.

''I've had 50 years in the mechanics trade and they are telling me that I don't know anything about cars and safety. It's bullshit,'' Wilson said.

''The whole WoF system is crook and needs fixing. The whole system is wrong.''

New Zealand Transport Agency chief executive Fergus Gammie said the circumstances which saw DDS issue the WoF to the vehicle which was subsequently involved in a fatal crash are "totally unacceptable".

William Ball, 65, was the front seat passenger in a vehicle which crashed into a ditch on State Highway 12 near Turiwiri, Dargaville. He died 26 days later.

The driver of the vehicle has pleaded guilty to driving related charges but is yet to be sentenced.

Police investigating the crash found the front passenger seatbelt was frayed and failed in the crash. DDS, who issued a WoF to the vehicle in December 2017, admitted it had done so without properly inspecting the vehicle, in particularly the seatbelts.

"DDS didn't check the vehicle properly. They failed William Ball," Gammie said.

"However, the NZ Transport Agency's regulatory regime also failed him and that is unacceptable."

NZTA was aware DDS had serious regulatory compliance issues on an intermittent basis since 2011. There were several chances to undertake enforcement action - the most serious infraction just weeks before the crash when NZTA observed DDS issuing warrants without inspecting vehicles properly, including seatbelts.

Wilson said the seatbelt on the vehicle involved in the fatal crash was not in the condition it was at during the crash when he tested it.

"There's no way I would let that car pass the warrant if the seatbelt had been like that when I tested it. No way.''

Wilson said he did not believe that the cars that were retested and failed their first recheck had the faults when they left his business with a new WoF.

"This is Dargaville, you don't know what it's like over here. We have people putting on their mate's good tyres to get a WoF then changing back to their old crappy ones once they get the warrant. We have people swapping over seatbelts after getting a warrant, you can't control that.''

In mid-October it was announced an extensive review of NZTA compliance files by law firm Meredith Connell was under way and a tougher enforcement regime was being implemented.

"What happened in Dargaville is an example of how our previous high-trust, education-focused regulatory regime has failed New Zealanders. We effectively trusted DDS to voluntarily improve its practices despite it having a significant track record of non-compliance," Gammie said.

"Furthermore, last December when the lack of seatbelt checks during Warrant of Fitness inspections were uncovered, the Transport Agency didn't take decisive action or appropriately escalate the issue internally."

NZTA has appointed Kristy McDonald QC to conduct a full inquiry into the DDS case.

The agency said it was currently reviewing more than 870 files but at this stage is unaware of any similar situations in Northland or elsewhere in New Zealand.

Anyone who has concerns about a WoF issued by DDS should contact NZTA on 0800 108 809.