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Unfortunately bringing in such testing in inevitable given both pan European standards and indeed Brexit.
However, a few comments regarding practicalities and implementation.
I understand that "Classic Cars" over say 30 or 40 years old are likely to be excluded. As a collector of such cars I feel that this is a sensible approach and mirrors the UK, although I feel that 30 years would be a better age to set, as that was the point at which many modern improvements were made to car design.
What will be the position of vehicles taken off the road for major repairs or renovation. Some specialist restorations of classic cars can take years. Will owners be able to apply for an off-road exemption.
A limited number of vehicles types, which are road registered, will never leave the Island and indeed are mainly used on private land, beaches etc, such as small tractors, works vehicles etc. I have a vision of a line of garden tractors slowly making their way into the testing facility causing major traffic jams! In no way would I suggest that the ever-increasing number of massive farm tractors should not be tested. However, consideration should be given to exempting small tractors, say those not able to exceed 30mph, or perhaps those less than a particular weight.
Could we go even further and adopt a duel system of registration, perhaps a second category of vehicles that are not permitted to circulate outside of the Island. Currently there is already a second "Works Vehicles" category, which limits the operation of such vehicles to a defined area of a mile or so. Could this simply be extended to the Island itself, but no further.
How will the proof of testing be shown. Will a further disc be displayed or will ANPR cameras be needed.
Who will do the testing, will the States have to build a specific testing facility and employ additional staff. Most cars require an annual or two yearly service, indeed older cars may visit their chosen garage on a more regular basis for repairs. A scheduled service will probably cover all of the tests required for a Road Worthiness Test, so it seems logical for local garages to be accredited to test most categories of vehicles. Another point is that a testing facility will not be able to correct any fault such as a broken bulb or misaligned headlight, thus the owner will have to take it to a garage to have the work done and then pay for it to be tested again. A garage will however be able to simply replace the bulb or re-align the headlight. The loss in working hours to the Island caused by owners having to take their cars for two almost identical checks could be surprisingly high! Not forgetting the additional manpower required to carry out those duplicate checks.
Finally, there will be one advantage to this process as it will give a better idea of the actual number of cars on the roads in Jersey. I fear that many cars have been exported, scrapped, or kept in bits at the back of a garage without being declared as required, and thus the figures become more and more artificially inflated as the years go by.
Chris McFadyen