Pulled, had failed NCT but awaiting NCT retest

fearrchair

My friend got pulled at a Garda checkpoint a few nights ago and had no up to date NCT due to the car failing, however while he had a retest booked that didnt seem to be accepted by the Garda.

Now there's talk of 3 penalty points...just wondering is it likely to come to this...

Was he wrong to have driven...while waiting for the retest...what was he to do with the need to get to employment or to fix the car.

CiniO

fearrchair wrote: »

My friend got pulled at a Garda checkpoint a few nights ago and had no up to date NCT due to the car failing, however while he had a retest booked that didnt seem to be accepted by the Garda.

Now there's talk of 3 penalty points...just wondering is it likely to come to this...

Probably likely if Gard wasn't happy about fact that your friend drove without NCT.

Was he wrong to have driven...while waiting for the retest...what was he to do with the need to get to employment or to fix the car.

It's illegal to drive a car without valid NCT.
For getting to his employment - alternative form of transport (bus, taxi, lift, cycle, walk, etc).
For fixing the car - on the day he failed NCT, he was legally allowed to keep driving for the rest of the day even though his NCT was expired. This is to give people opportunity to shop around garages to fix their car.

bazz26

What did it fail for?

slimjimmc

Likely outcome is 3 penalty points and a fine. He can choose to reject the fixed penalty notice and challenge it in court but if he loses (which is very likely) he will be awarded 5 penalty points and a fine.

Yes he was wrong to drive without a current NCT (it's totally illegal) but it's a little strange he was charged in the first place. Was he so far out of date or was the car so defective that the Garda couldn't use his discretion, or did he do something else that the Garda couldn't ignore?

CJ Haughey

Ops story is not adding up.

El Horseboxo

CJ Haughey wrote: »

Ops story is not adding up.

I'm adding it up and I get bollix.

Doom

Its another **** law to generate money...give people a chance, how many cars got registered in January every year until 2013, the backlog is huge.

CJ Haughey

Doom wrote: »

Its another **** law to generate money...give people a chance, how many cars got registered in January every year until 2013, the backlog is huge.

There is more to the ops story than its being told.

Doom

CJ Haughey wrote: »

There is more to the ops story than its being told.

Trolling??

evo2000

CJ Haughey wrote: »

Ops story is not adding up.

Good man sherlock holmes, good thing you were here or we d all have been fooled!


If it was nothing major wrong with the car that wudnt cause an accident id say the garda was just being abit of a ... but if the car was fair bad and it was dangerous tough sheet and take ur lumps.

CJ Haughey

evo2000 wrote: »

Good man sherlock holmes, good thing you were here or we d all have been fooled!

Tough crowd tonight.

fearrchair

He was pulled on the Dyke road here in Galway and with the rally around they might be a bit more strict or extra Garda brought in. He was driving a standard 10 year old focus but l am beginning to think there's more he's not saying alright. l'm getting the story indirectly.
Maybe the Guard seen something that he wasn't happy with...

CJ Haughey

fearrchair wrote: »

Maybe the Guard seen something that he wasn't happy with...

Maybe my aunt is my uncle.

Atlantic Dawn

Was it on 4 slicks, no working lights, brake lines etc? What did it fail on? How long was it out of date?

corktina

he had three months to get it sorted before the NCT ran out. Why do people wait? The earlier you do it (imo) the less there is likely to be wrong!

iPhone.

Just wondering as I,m not very clued up on the NCT regarding failing the test. If as a previous poster said you are only allowed to continue to drive legally for the duration of the day the car failed the test to allow you time to get to a garage for repairs, how do you legally get it back to the test centre again?

Are you expected to have it towed or pay a mechanic to drive it there ?

Bing_IRL

Galway rally on this wknd. Might he have been lumped in with the boy racer brigade?

corktina

iPhone. wrote: »

Just wondering as I,m not very clued up on the NCT regarding failing the test. If as a previous poster said you are only allowed to continue to drive legally for the duration of the day the car failed the test to allow you time to get to a garage for repairs, how do you legally get it back to the test centre again?

Are you expected to have it towed or pay a mechanic to drive it there ?

I'd say yes that is the case,that's why you can do the test several months before it expires. PS mechanic can't drive it either and you can't tow it on it's own wheels...

ShaunieVW

corktina wrote: »

I'd say yes that is the case,that's why you can do the test several months before it expires. PS mechanic can't drive it either and you can't tow it on it's own wheels...

You can drive it to be repaired and can also drive it to be tested.

Mc Love

Gardai are also operating Operation Solas, checking motorists for faulty/missing lights so he might have one of those but I've seen them pull other dodgy looking auto's

witnessmenow

corktina wrote: »

he had three months to get it sorted before the NCT ran out. Why do people wait? The earlier you do it (imo) the less there is likely to be wrong!

I currently have an expired NCT (out since end of January)

I went to book the NCT at the start of December, so 2 months in advance. Was checking 3 test centers for a slot and there was none available til mid February (very nearly a 3 month wait). I booked it and rang the NCT number to see if I could get something before it expired and was told that they just check the system that I seen online and to keep checking back.

So I took a look a few times in between, now widening my net to 5 centers and I never seen anything earlier.

If I get pulled up on it I will be taking it to court, I feel I have done everything that is reasonably expected of me to sort it. So while you could argue I possibly should have booked in November, I would have thought 2 months in advance would have left me enough time.

Atlantic Dawn

Mc Love wrote: »

Gardai are also operating Operation Solas, checking motorists for faulty/missing lights so he might have one of those but I've seen them pull other dodgy looking auto's

About time.

They should next mount Operation Rubber to check bald tyres.

challengemaster

ShaunieVW wrote: »

You can drive it to be repaired and can also drive it to be tested.

No you can't, that was changed in 2009. You're no longer exempt whilst driving to the test centre. If you want to get a car with no NCT (expired) to the centre the only legal way is towing it

squadro

How about operation turn off yer bleeding fog lights unless it's foggy?

Tigger

challengemaster wrote: »

No you can't, that was changed last year. You're no longer exempt whilst driving to the test centre. If you want to get a car with no NCT (expired) to the centre the only legal way is towing it

That's annoying
Link please

ironclaw

corktina wrote: »

he had three months to get it sorted before the NCT ran out. Why do people wait? The earlier you do it (imo) the less there is likely to be wrong!

A friends car has its NCT due in March. So we decided to sit down and book in around the first week of January. Earliest date? mid-April.

As others have said, I'd take it in front of judge if I had to. This nonsense of having to ring up to get an appointment, or going on cancellation lists or waiting until midnight to see what slots come up is a joke. Its a public service we all pay for and the State tender to, why do we have to do the walking?

I've often said there should be an option on the booking to take a cancellation with 24 hours notice. I'd gladly take that and to actually implement that is literally about a weeks work of coding. Less even.

But there is absolutely zero incentive to be efficient if you are running on Government money in a captive market. NCT should be tendered to two companies. Best man wins and another company given the second contract. Repeat. Won't be long being super efficient.

Doom

squadro wrote: »

How about operation turn off yer bleeding fog lights unless it's foggy?

Operation Bell-end

audi12

corktina wrote: »

he had three months to get it sorted before the NCT ran out. Why do people wait? The earlier you do it (imo) the less there is likely to be wrong!

Very high and mighty attitude

challengemaster

Tigger wrote: »

That's annoying
Link please

Actually that's my bad - this has been in force since 2009. I was thinking of something else from last year.

(5) This Regulation does not apply to a vehicle—


(a) first registered prior to 1 January 1980,


(b) which is used solely on an off-shore island,


(c) on the day on which a test certificate in respect of the vehicle had been refused, or


(d) which is owned or operated by the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces.

This was the original version from 1999

(c) which is being driven to a test centre, for the purposes of having a test, or a re-test, carried out, for which an appointment had been made prior to the time of such driving,

ABC101

Like most things in life... trying to get something done is becoming harder.

If your car NCT is due in January 2016.... then one should make a booking in June 2015, for a test in September 2015.

i.e. make an appointment 3 months before the expiry date, but as there is a 3 month waiting list you require to make a booking 6 months in advance.

That way if you fail the NCT test you have 3 months to get it sorted out and rebook the repeat test before the original certificate expires.

You can fail the NCT test for all sorts of reasons, like one of the light bulbs for the registration plate is out, a loose / worn bit of rubber on a accelerator peddle, or a recent favouite the negative terminal from the battery where it is connected to the body of the car has to be super super tight.... almost GORILLA proof.

I know of one chap who washed his car prior to the test.... but a bit of moisture got into one of the rear lenses....result FAIL.

I'm not exactly sure where a driver would stand in the eyes of the law... if their vehicle had failed the NCT on something minor... they had gotten it fixed that day.... and they were awaiting a retest... and then got stopped by a Garda who was having a bad day.

Obviously if you had the NCT report... and the receipt for the item which was repaired.... you might have a chance of saying that the car is actually safe to drive i.e. engine / brakes work etc.... all you are missing is a valid NCT cert.

But the rules being the rules probably mean you are a law breaker!

As the population increases, I can see a dire situation in the future for cars which have to be tested yearly...where on having successfully passed the NCT test... one immediately logs on to book the next test 12 months in advance!!!

witnessmenow

ABC101 wrote: »

Like most things in life... trying to get something done is becoming harder.

If your car NCT is due in January 2016.... then one should make a booking in June 2015, for a test in September 2015.

i.e. make an appointment 3 months before the expiry date, but as there is a 3 month waiting list you require to make a booking 6 months in advance.

That way if you fail the NCT test you have 3 months to get it sorted out and rebook the repeat test before the original certificate expires.

You can fail the NCT test for all sorts of reasons, like one of the light bulbs for the registration plate is out, a loose / worn bit of rubber on a accelerator peddle, or a recent favouite the negative terminal from the battery where it is connected to the body of the car has to be super super tight.... almost GORILLA proof.

I know of one chap who washed his car prior to the test.... but a bit of moisture got into one of the rear lenses....result FAIL.

I'm not exactly sure where a driver would stand in the eyes of the law... if their vehicle had failed the NCT on something minor... they had gotten it fixed that day.... and they were awaiting a retest... and then got stopped by a Garda who was having a bad day.

Obviously if you had the NCT report... and the receipt for the item which was repaired.... you might have a chance of saying that the car is actually safe to drive i.e. engine / brakes work etc.... all you are missing is a valid NCT cert.

But the rules being the rules probably mean you are a law breaker!

As the population increases, I can see a dire situation in the future for cars which have to be tested yearly...where on having successfully passed the NCT test... one immediately logs on to book the next test 12 months in advance!!!

I actually didn't realise you could make the booking for a date within the 3 months prior to the 3 months, all their ads etc state "you can book your test 3 months in advance". "Book" being the action of booking a test

ABC101

witnessmenow wrote: »

I actually didn't realise you could make the booking for a date within the 3 months prior to the 3 months, all their ads etc state "you can book your test 3 months in advance". "Book" being the action of booking a test

Well maybe you are right... but my understanding was that you can book an appointment up to 3 months prior to the expiry date.

As there is a 3 month waiting queue.... to book 3 months early.... means booking 6 months in advance.

Otherwise why advertise the fact you can book 3 months early? Which would be physically impossible with a 3 month queue!

My last car was due in June.... I booked the NCT test in March..... but I had made the booking some time prior to March.... can't remember the exact date... but it would have been at least 4 months prior to the NCT expiry date.

bazz26

You can book the NCT at any time now. However if the test is outside 3 months of the due date then the cert will be valid for 1 or 2 years from date of the test. If you do the test within the 3 months of it being due then you get the cert from that date plus the 1 or 2 years from the original due date.

corktina

audi12 wrote: »

Very high and mighty attitude

how do you reckon that? I gave a logical reason for testing the car as early as possible...if your car is good now, it's only going to get worse and the chances of failure rise

corktina

time and time again we have pointed out in here, that booking online can be a waste of time unless you check late at night or very early in the morning. Phoning for an appointment is the way to go, and insisting you need an appointment as a priority. If they can't oblige within 28 days, your test is free

I booked mine on January first and had the test AND the re-test dine by the tenth.

challengemaster

witnessmenow wrote: »

If I get pulled up on it I will be taking it to court, I feel I have done everything that is reasonably expected of me to sort it. So while you could argue I possibly should have booked in November, I would have thought 2 months in advance would have left me enough time.

ironclaw wrote: »

A friends car has its NCT due in March. So we decided to sit down and book in around the first week of January. Earliest date? mid-April.

As others have said, I'd take it in front of judge if I had to.

In the same vein as "two wrongs don't make a right", if you can't get an NCT booking it doesn't mean you're entitled to drive a car without NCT. If your NCT expires, you can't legally drive the car until it's tested again - and I'd expect a judge to tell you the exact same as he gives you a nice fine and penalty points.

goz83

fearrchair wrote: »

He was pulled on the Dyke road here in Galway and with the rally around they might be a bit more strict or extra Garda brought in. He was driving a standard 10 year old focus but l am beginning to think there's more he's not saying alright. l'm getting the story indirectly.
Maybe the Guard seen something that he wasn't happy with...

A ford focus on Dyke road? Might have been considered a hot rod out of place.

joujoujou

ABC101 wrote: »

[...]

That way if you fail the NCT test you have 3 months to get it sorted out and rebook the repeat test before the original certificate expires.

Not exactly. Retest slots are kept apart from "normal" test slots, never had a problem with booking a retest just a week or two in advance.

ABC101 wrote: »

You can fail the NCT test for all sorts of reasons, like one of the light bulbs for the registration plate is out, a loose / worn bit of rubber on a accelerator peddle, or a recent favouite the negative terminal from the battery where it is connected to the body of the car has to be super super tight.... almost GORILLA proof.

I know of one chap who washed his car prior to the test.... but a bit of moisture got into one of the rear lenses....result FAIL.

[...]

All aforementioned fail reasons are not a fail (reg plate light is advisory) or won't require booking at all.

ABC101

joujoujou wrote: »

Not exactly. Retest slots are kept apart from "normal" test slots, never had a problem with booking a retest just a week or two in advance.


All aforementioned fail reasons are not a fail (reg plate light is advisory) or won't require booking at all.

I know for a fact that my car was failed due to the negative battery terminal not being tight enough.

I refused to accept this failure.... I took my toolbox out of the boot, selected the right size spanner... tightened the nut.

Went back into the front desk, called the guy out, this time he applied a lot of force with his hand..... and got it to move slightly.

To which he said it was not tight enough.... and off he went. Car still failed.

So I tighted the nut up really really super tight.... five minutes later I called the guy out... and this time he could not move it ... no matter how much Gorilla force he used with his hands.

The car was then deemed to have passed the test. We both went back in and I got the certificate.

So in my experience.... it was not an advisory..... it was an actual fail. Only the fact that I had a few spanners, and I refused to leave as it was only a nut to be nipped up.

There was no way I was going to leave and go though the whole rigmarole of booking a retest appointment over a thing as simple as a nut.

IP freely

bazz26 wrote: »

You can book the NCT at any time now. However if the test is outside 3 months of the due date then the cert will be valid for 1 or 2 years from date of the test. If you do the test within the 3 months of it being due then you get the cert from that date plus the 1 or 2 years from the original due date.

They have stopped doing this now also.

It used to be the case it ran from the cars reg date, but if you book before that(ie in the 3 months prior) you get 1 or 2 years from pass date. They really are giving no incentive to test early anymore.

IMO it's a seriously flawed system that's needs totally rethinking. In Donegal (letterkenny) you can be waiting as long a 6 mths for a date.

bazz26

IP freely wrote: »

They have stopped doing this now also.

It used to be the case it ran from the cars reg date, but if you book before that(ie in the 3 months prior) you get 1 or 2 years from pass date. They really are giving no incentive to test early anymore.

The 6 months early incentive is gone but you still have the 3 month early incentive. I got my father's car booked in December and he got a 27 month cert.

JohnBoy26

corktina wrote: »

how do you reckon that? I gave a logical reason for testing the car as early as possible...if your car is good now, it's only going to get worse and the chances of failure rise

I'll give you a reason. Time. No one should have to do it three months in advance.

I booked my test over 4 weeks in advance in early december. This should of been plenty of notice to get an appointment before my test expired in January yet the nearest possible date they could give me was in late February. This was too far away so I refused and ended up being put on a priority list. I ended up getting a test appointment one week outside my nct expiring but really given the notice I gave them this should not have happened and I should not have been put in this position.

We all can't be as perfect as you booking a test 3 months in advance. For some of us we don't have the luxury to do so and we should never have to either. I feel a months notice was more than enough. wouldn't you agree?

9935452

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

I'll give you a reason. Time. No one should have to do it three months in advance.

I booked my test over 4 weeks in advance in early december. This should of been plenty of notice to get an appointment before my test expired in January yet the nearest possible date they could give me was in late February. This was too far away so I refused and ended up being put on a priority list. I ended up getting a test appointment one week outside my nct expiring but really given the notice I gave them this should not have happened and I should not have been put in this position.

We all can't be as perfect as you booking a test 3 months in advance. For some of us we don't have the luxury to do so and we should never have to either. I feel a months notice was more than enough. wouldn't you agree?

the system is currently seriously flawed.
Before it was changed you just needed to show you had an nct booked if stopped. i know a few lads who freely admit to doing this for years as they say the car would never pass an nct and it would cost too much to fix it.

Now its totally illegal to drive without an nct so everyone is booking/failing their nct coz a lot have gone years without one. Net result is the system is totally backed up and cannot get a booking.

A big problem here is a large proportion of cars were registered in january meaning around this time is gonna be stupidly backed up.
My car was a july car so hopefully wont have much problem but will be looking to book sometime soon.

joujoujou

ABC101 wrote: »

[...]
So in my experience.... it was not an advisory..... it was an actual fail. [...]

If you quote me, read me first. :P

slimjimmc

9935452 wrote: »

the system is currently seriously flawed.
Before it was changed you just needed to show you had an nct booked if stopped. i know a few lads who freely admit to doing this for years as they say the car would never pass an nct and it would cost too much to fix it.

Now its totally illegal to drive without an nct so everyone is booking/failing their nct coz a lot have gone years without one. Net result is the system is totally backed up and cannot get a booking.

A big problem here is a large proportion of cars were registered in january meaning around this time is gonna be stupidly backed up.
My car was a july car so hopefully wont have much problem but will be looking to book sometime soon.

It has always been illegal since the day the NCT was introduced. Nothing has changed in that respect. Those lads only got away with it because Gardaí were very willing to apply their discretion, but it doesn't mean that driving without an NCT (when required) was ever legal. That discretionary power is still there afaik, but with all the scandal over the past few years it's understandable if a Garda is less inclined to apply it. The new lower penalty may also make it easier to give a FPN rather that a court summons.

dgt

corktina wrote: »

he had three months to get it sorted before the NCT ran out. Why do people wait? The earlier you do it (imo) the less there is likely to be wrong!

Well, it seems to depend on the centre and when the test is up. The mothers car is awaiting it's NCT, the earliest I could get one for it was this month. When did I book it? October. If I'm honest, that's a load of horsesh*t to be given such a timeslot practically at the start of the 3 month advance, they were on for giving me a date in March (yet some people getting very ratty about not being availing the opportunity to book in advance and calling it a luxury, oh please that's just pathetic :rolleyes: )

Yet, my own car I got a booking for it within 2 weeks. I really can't understand it

Seems to me it's hit and miss with centres. Next one to book is the fathers car, time will tell what slot I get for it

corktina

dgt wrote: »

Well, it seems to depend on the centre and when the test is up. The mothers car is awaiting it's NCT, the earliest I could get one for it was this month. When did I book it? October. If I'm honest, that's a load of horsesh*t to be given such a timeslot practically at the start of the 3 month advance, they were on for giving me a date in March (yet some people getting very ratty about not being availing the opportunity to book in advance and calling it a luxury, oh please that's just pathetic :rolleyes: )

Yet, my own car I got a booking for it within 2 weeks. I really can't understand it

Seems to me it's hit and miss with centres. Next one to book is the fathers car, time will tell what slot I get for it

see my post 35

dgt

corktina wrote: »

see my post 35

And that's how I got my test within 2 weeks. Book the day/night before and ringing around 10am for me seemed to do the trick.

Just an observation, but it seems to depend on the time of year and centre

CiniO

challengemaster wrote: »

In the same vein as "two wrongs don't make a right", if you can't get an NCT booking it doesn't mean you're entitled to drive a car without NCT.

Of course you are! Not legally, but you are entitled to drive it if you tried hard to do NCT, but you couldn't, don't you think. Otherwise, we are not living in a free country.

If your NCT expires, you can't legally drive the car until it's tested again - and I'd expect a judge to tell you the exact same as he gives you a nice fine and penalty points.

If a judge after reviewing evidence, that all care was taken to book NCT in time, and still this wasn't possible gives such verdict, then I suppose case should go further.
Maybe EU court of justice or something like that.
Would sound funny that Irish government requires people to have valid NCT, but doesn't provide a system to do it on time.
Maybe they finally could make an order in this regard.

challengemaster

CiniO wrote: »

Otherwise, we are not living in a free country.

There's no such thing as a free country.

If a judge after reviewing evidence, that all care was taken to book NCT in time, and still this wasn't possible gives such verdict, then I suppose case should go further.
Maybe EU court of justice or something like that.
Would sound funny that Irish government requires people to have valid NCT, but doesn't provide a system to do it on time.
Maybe they finally could make an order in this regard.

You can do an NCT at any time during the year. That's enough of a system to ensure you get the car tested on time. If you can't manage it, all care was not taken to book an NCT in time. I'm fairly sure everyone in the country knows there's an NCT backlog. If you still can't manage to ensure your NCT doesn't expire, the problem is with the owner lacking the ability to a) take responsibility for their mandatory requirements to drive a vehicle and b) plan appropriately.

I do think the system is flawed and having such a backlog is ridiculous - but it's not any sort of valid excuse for ignoring legal requirements. There is no basic human right to drive - the Irish population tends to act like there is.

audi12

challengemaster wrote: »

There's no such thing as a free country.




You can do an NCT at any time during the year. That's enough of a system to ensure you get the car tested on time. If you can't manage it, all care was not taken to book an NCT in time. I'm fairly sure everyone in the country knows there's an NCT backlog. If you still can't manage to ensure your NCT doesn't expire, the problem is with the owner lacking the ability to a) take responsibility for their mandatory requirements to drive a vehicle and b) plan appropriately.

I do think the system is flawed and having such a backlog is ridiculous - but it's not any sort of valid excuse for ignoring legal requirements. There is no basic human right to drive - the Irish population tends to act like there is.

ignoring legal requirements it is an NCT he didnt shoot anyone money making scam is what it is talk about a overreaction towards the poster