Almost one million MOT tests were carried out across Northern Ireland in 2022, new figures reveal.
The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) says it has steadily increased its vehicle testing capacity and is now exceeding pre-Covid levels after MOT tests were suspended several times over the past two years, leaving many drivers facing long waits for appointments.
In some cases, drivers have been unable to get their vehicles tested before their current MOT certificate expires.
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New figures from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) show that in November 2022, the DVA conducted almost 90,600 full vehicle tests, which is the highest monthly figure ever recorded.
The rolling 12-month total for full vehicle tests conducted is now 950,750 and DfI says this has been achieved by adopting a range of measures including the recruitment of additional vehicle examiners, the use of overtime to provide cover for leave and by offering vehicle test appointments on a Sunday and bank holidays, when testing is not normally available.
The DVA has confirmed that as of 12:00 on 20 December 2022, just over 160,000 vehicles have a vehicle test booking appointment up to 31 March 2023 and approximately 53,600 further appointment slots are available across its network of test centres for the same period.
A DfI spokesperson told Belfast Live: "The DVA releases vehicle test appointments on a daily basis and customers are encouraged to regularly check the booking system as they may be able to change their existing appointment to a different test centre and time if a slot becomes available.
"The DVA’s advice to vehicle owners who require an MOT to tax their vehicle and cannot secure a date before their MOT expires is to book the earliest available appointment and keep checking the booking system for an earlier appointment.
"If they get to within five days of the expiry date of their vehicle tax and they have been unable to secure an appointment or their vehicle tax has expired, they should contact the DVA Customer Services team at dva.customerservices@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk and they will do their best to get an urgent appointment for the vehicle. To date, all customers who have contacted the DVA in these circumstances have been offered an earlier appointment.
"Vehicle Excise Duty (Motor Tax) is an excepted matter and is administered and enforced by the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea on behalf of HM Treasury. The Department has no authority or influence with the DVLA on these matters."
Cars are due their first MOT after four years. MOT tests for cars and light vehicles were first suspended in January 2020 after concerns over lift equipment.
Cracks in vehicle lifts were first detected the previous November but the problem rapidly escalated in January when all Northern Ireland MOT tests - of which there are usually around 1,500 per day - were suspended after cracks were found in 52 of the 55 vehicle lifts in the 15 test centres across the region.
Testing of HGVs, buses and motorcycles were unaffected by the disruption while owners of cars and light vehicles that were five years old or more were eligible for a temporary exemption certificate.
Younger cars and taxis were prioritised for tests that were carried out in the heavy vehicle lanes in MOT test centres.
DfI later confirmed it was spending £1.8m on the installation of 52 new lifts for MoT centres, work which was completed in October 2020. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 again put the brakes on tests.
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